It seems to me they had plenty of chances to especially post WWI. Isn't the city of an extreme importance historically to Christians because of its ties with Byzantium and the Third Rome?

I just read Cormac Mccarthy's "All the Pretty Horses," and the English speaking American characters frequently interact with Spanish-speaking characters in Spanish, despite their lack of education. In other films and movies, I have seen characters that can speak anything from Spanish to English to Navajo. In particular, it is assumed that they speak this language.

Would it be typical for a 1940s resident of El Paso to speak both Spanish and English? Would a resident of Flagstaff, Arizona know Navajo?

By ancient Germany, I'm referring to the period around the second century CE. Were there small towns? Did most people live in huts? I picture ancient Germany as densely forested with few inhabitants. How accurate is this?

Hey everyone. So I was just wondering what Russian soldiers thought of Western equipment during World War Two, specifically tanks? I've heard that they weren't overly effective but I'm not sure on that.

Could be a movie, series, game, something I'm reading to him....

He's a smart 10-year-old, we speak English at home (texts would have to be translated but subtitles on video aren't necessarily an instant no-go), he digs Tolkien and chess, and, like, building weapons out of things.

Okay, I get the principal - they had to get so close in order to open fire themselves, but did they really just keep marching in formation into gunfire as the front rows were wiped out, like in the movies?

The issue doesn't seem to be addressed explicitly in the Treaty of Paris.

Due to death or illness is there a specific member of the cabinet who takes over?

Today's topic was suggested by /u/Righteous_Dude. They ask:

What are the minimum necessary attributes for something to be 'a historical account'?

To add on to their quesion, I would also ask: how do you evaluate the value/historicity of of a given source?

If we can get the folklorists in here, do you attempt to differentiate between those myths/legends/folktales that have a basis in historical fact, and those that do not? If so, can myths/legends/folktales bring something to the table that other historical methods can not?

Hi AskHistorians,

I am writing a essay on the issues that Rural Japan faces and obviously one of the largest issues is the declining population and the unbalanced age demography. I am currently trying to find what policies Japan has implemented to try and bring the population back to rural Japan but I am having trouble finding it.

I know the LDP has made it one of their goals to bring the population back but I have been unable to find any good sources to show what the LDP has been doing specifically to do this. Any sources I have been close to finding has either lacked major information or been in Japanese. Only concrete information I have found so far is the rural relocationtion act in 1970 but that was the best I could find.

So what I am asking is: What has Japan done to try and bring back the population to rural areas Post WWII?

To give a bit more specificity, broad economic changes often create shifts in urban economic geography. The changes in the Late Medieval economy, for example, leading to the transformation of the Cotswolds from a thriving economic center to a rather sleepy rural area. I noticed that the city rankings of England changed pretty dramatically between 1750 and 1850 (Norwich and Bath, for example, were among the largest in the eighteenth century) and am curious whether the change only came about because of the rise of the northern cities, or if there was a concomitant depression in other cities.

I'm specifically referring to England but am interested in other areas.

I'm curious as to how the Allies managed to keep Operation Overlord a secret from the Axis forces during WWII. They planned and trained with thousands of troops for over 2 years, yet still managed to surprise Hitler. Did German intelligence not notice the gigantic buildup of forces across the channel? Was Hitler's plan to build up defenses in the most likely areas along the coast and hope an attack (if it came) would be where he decided to fortify?

As an aside, I know in several films the Allied soldiers themselves were not made aware of the locations they would be assaulting till a few days prior (ie. Band of Brothers). How accurate is that?

It's apparently common knowledge that the Spanish raped and genocided their way through central and South America, with some documentaries I've seen even claiming that the Spanish conquistadors in Peru even had a mission to rape as many women as possible to make sure they all had half Spanish children as a way to destroy the native race. This obviously raises some questions for me, and I wish to know, was the Spanish as cruel as usually taught or is it downplayed/exaggerated?

For example, when the Spanish made contact with the vast inca empire, why did they not succumb to exotic diseases the native people had immunity to?

I'm wondering why the attack was conducted with mainly aviation assets. Could they not have had better results, as well as scout and engage American avation ships should they appear, if they brought more assets. Basically, why not a commited battle instead of a hit-and-run?

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example , pompeii tragedy , 24 August 79 AD ( or october, we don't know exactly )

Is it the julian date?

I recently saw the film "In the Heart of the Sea" (i rather enjoyed it by the way despite the bad reviews) and currently reading the book it was based on. I really was surprised to learn that Moby Dick was inspired by an actual event. The thought of a whale being intelligent enough to attack/hunt a whaling mother ship seems implausible to me but perhaps I'm underestimating the intelligence of sperm whales. Was this an isolated event in history, or have their been other instances of whales being vengeful and striking back against their captors? Today it doesn't seem like whales strike back against humans and ships at all save for incidents in water parks by Orca whales.