I was curious about this, as I was wondering how easy or hard it was for Draft dodgers during the Viet Nam era to go and stay in Canada.

I , for a long time have always wondered about this. It has never been made clear in any books I've read or documentaries I have seen.

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I'm studying the English Civil War(s) for my A Levels, but I'm a bit confused by 'Thorough'. I've tried googling it, but can't find many relevant webpages. I'd be very grateful if someone could explain it for me.

This is something I just don't understand, a lot of times I read about Jerusalem falling into Frankish hands during the Crusades or how Saladin ended the Frankish occupation of Jerusalem and more.

But this doesn't make any sense whatsoever....

The Frankish empire had been divided at that point for a long time, the HRE was even already set up. Maybe France was still referenced as the Frankish empire but it still wouldn't make much sense because the kingdom of Jerusalem, which Saladin defeated, was created by English Normans who have no connection to the Frankish empire...

I mean, I see people call all crusaders "Franks" but only a small portion of the crusaders came from France and the Frankish empire didn't even exist anymore. It's like calling Italians Romans...

So, why is the word "Franks" used so much? Is there a reason for this or is it just plain wrong, as I assume?

Did it have something to do with the air power/armor of both sides?

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Gettysburg National Military Park to see the sights, and while I was there I talked to a group of reenactors who were playing the part of a field hospital attached to an artillery battery. During the head guy's talk though, he made a claim that by 1863 Union artillery was "the best in the world," and claimed that artillerymen at this time could shoot through windows. My question is, what is the veracity of this claim? Were Union artillerymen on average exceptional in discipline/speed/accuracy/however you'd rank artillery? If so, how early did they gain these skills, and how long did the U.S. have this reputation? Were there cases of artillery crews performing "trick shots" like shooting through windows? Thanks!

It sometimes seems like China is the chinese equivalent of the Roman Empire, but we in Europe ended up with different languages, while it seems that China completly unified in a single han-chinese culture.

Compare China to India, which looks a lot more diverse and probably wouldn't even be a country without the involvement of the British Empire.

Also China has a tendency to be ruled over by a small noble elite, often originating from outside of china like the mongols for example.

I guess this is also an inadvertant question in regards to why there was no revival of the Roman Empire or why the latin assimilation wasn't as succesful. Why was there no Alexander the Great type personality who took over much of Europe or if those types existed, why did they fail?

Also, any details about Women in combat roles in WWII would be of interest to me.

Did Romans think about outlawing that cult, because it seemed insane/diminished their manpower in terms of recruiting?

Also what became of those eunuchs? Could they live a normal life after that? Could they have had relationships with either women or men?

Edit: (reply to someone who deleted his comment)

Do they somehow favour feminity over masculinity or what is the logic behind that?

I mean the ancient world had lots of weird things going on in it, so who knows if they all became the bottoms for someone in a homosexual relationship or if they spend their lives as the servants of some priestess.

But I definetly remember that there was supposedly a big festival every once in a while, where young men in a fit of "religious fervour" castrated themselves publically. Think about that for a moment. Castrating yourself in front of maybe even your friend and joining a giant march of some cult and become part of it.

I wonder how much this has to do with the practice of parents mutilating their children so they can't be drafted for military service.

Did the Sultan ever send some private letters to Vladimir to humiliate him on the status of his brother? Or maybe some akward details from his past, which only his brother would have known?

To explain it better: my grandfather was interned in a german concentration camp in 1943 (after Italy surrendered) and later kept in a russian camp until 1946. He was fairly well treated in his own words, also thanks to his ability to speak both german and russian; and he often told me that many russian soldiers encouraged him to stay as a free man, rather than going back to Italy, given that there was no shortage of work.

Was this part of a coherent social policy, since the USSR might have been in need of work force? Or was this simply small talk?

I have read enough history to know that the kings of England basically practiced polygamy. Mistresses. There is lists of illegitimate children for Henry I, Henry II, Edward II, etc.

But was polygamy practiced by anyone else? Even unofficial relationships?

Hi! I know, it's one of those frustrating and controversial questions about Feudalism. However, it is an honest question that I'd love to here some expert and knowledgeable opinions on.

Basically, were the landholdings named for the noble who administered them (i.e. therefore the original noble was measured by his own merits, given a title of a specific rank, then given holdings that were thus classified), or were the nobles named for the landholdings they were granted?

I know there would probably be iffiness with regard to this chicken-and-egg question, but I mean the original nobility (the ones whom everyone else inherited their titles and holdings from).

For example, 'Counts' are called such as they are nominally 'companions of the King' (i.e. his most loyal men). So given that, would a person who gained the title Count due to his service under the King when he did his original conquering, when given landholdings as a reward and a bond, would the landholdings be named 'Counties' to match his title?

Or did medieval land-surveyors look at the area, divided and categorized them by value as either baronies, counties, duchies, etc. Then someone who did well would be granted so-and-so land as a benefice, and since the so-and-so land was classified as a county, he would be called 'Count'? I'm sure the land chosen for him would be picked to 'match' his achievements, but the technical question of which is named first is of academic curiosity to me, I think.

Specifically because if noble are named for pre-categorized landholdings, then it must mean that there are a limited number of counts, barons, etc. that can be named. If a landholding is instead named for a noble, then a monarch can theoretically ennoble as many counts as he or she would like, and their holdings would then be elevated to the status of being a 'county'.

What do you think?

And is the mood about the war similar or different? Here in America we are proud about winning the war. What about people in present day Britain? Do they pretty much acknowledge they got their butts handed to them, or are they taught a different version of history?

I am writing a paper on Czechoslovak New Wave cinema that was made during the Prague Spring. I want to begin by summarizing the sociopolitical climate that led to it, and while I'm beginning to piece together the literal cause for the liberalization, I'm having a hard time finding information on why Czechoslovakia was a unique exception within the communist countries at this time. In other words, why was Dubeck's reform so readily accepted by the country's communist party? All the resources I have scoured simply imply that the country was more liberal and urban in its pre-communist era, yet I feel that I am missing out on exact reasoning. Is it social or cultural beliefs? Is it that the Czech people were simply just less enamored with the steadfast socialism of the Soviet Union? I just feel that to better analyze the type of art the Czech people created during the time of weakened censorship, I need to better understand their cultural climate as a whole. I realize that this is a huge question, but it is not really an easy thing to google! Links to resources or anything would be a great help.