I watched the documentary Bhutto, and they talked about Pakistan funding Islamic fundamentalist groups to fight the Soviets in the invasion of Afghanistan. Did the US directly contribute to the spread of these groups by funding Pakistan during this time? And if so, wouldn't that implicate America as the source of the instability there decades later, in our own time?
1 Answers 2015-12-18
So I'm not gonna lie, I thought 'globalisation' was a fairly new concept, like a buzzword that economists, historians and social scientists use to talk about the next best thing (I'm looking at you China) But I came across an article from the lovely Janet Abu-Lughod (Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350) and she proposed the idea that globalisation has been happening for centuries specifically the 13th century. I find this to be really interesting so then I started reading a mish mash of historians/socialigists ect and I saw a common theme that showed that globalisation started around the 18th century. I mean I guess it makes sense but I kind of lean more with the idea that it started in the 13th century. You know the Middle Eastern and the Asian societies have been trading for years so why doesn't it start there rather than the 18th century?
Please enlighten me, I'm here to learn and correct any mistakes I make.
Thanks in advance ;)
3 Answers 2015-12-18
The article below features someone who claims he found proof that romans discovered america. He uses objects such as: a gladius, a carthaginian coin, stick figure drawings, and the head of a roman statue found in mexico city to back up his claims. Is there any truth to back these claims up?
2 Answers 2015-12-18
I've always wondered how we determine the borders of ancient empires, and how accurate the knowledge is. I'll be looking at this image of the Roman Empire under Trajan, but really I'm curious about how we have determined the borders of any ancient or medieval empire. I know we can determine how far Roman control extended by looking at what cities and tribes they subjugated, and things such as Hadrian's wall in Britain. But how accurate are the actual lines we see on maps such as this. Are they simple approximations, "connecting the dots" between places we know Roman control extended to? How do we know that control extended not far south of the gulf of Sidra, but farther in areas like Numidia?
Would ancient empires even have official borders, or would there be frontiers, where control eventually weakened to the point of nonexistence, and you would then be outside the empire?
1 Answers 2015-12-18
The Republic of Srpska in Bosnia had many close ties -- politically, culturally, and militarily -- with neighboring Serbia. From what I understand, Serb Nationalism was the main, if not sole, force uniting the region. Given this, why didn't the Republic of Srpska simply join Serbia?
Also, what are some good books about the Yugoslav Wars?
1 Answers 2015-12-18
I feel stupid for asking this question, because it really ought to be Googleable. But I can't find any information, at least in English. I know Mao wasn't a native Mandarin speaker, and always spoke that language with a strong Hunan accent. But from what I can tell there are multiple local languages in Hunan province; which one did he grow up speaking? I'm leaning towards Hakka, but sources for that seem distinctly unscholarly.
Note: I know some people call the Sinitic languages of China "dialects of Chinese". Personally I think this is a misnomer, but if in answering the question you feel more comfortable using that nomenclature I promise not to argue about it here.
EDIT: Wikipedia list's him as a Xiang speaker--and elsewhere as a "well known ... native speaker"--but doesn't give a reference (the one at the end of the sentence is only for Ma Ying-jeou).
1 Answers 2015-12-18
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1 Answers 2015-12-18
When Castile decided to form Spain where the name came from.
1 Answers 2015-12-18
From reading "Life of a Colossus" and all the other material out there, the guy was clearly very active at dictating letters building his prestige. Did he have any regular fitness routine? Did Romans patricians in general participate in athletic training as adults similar to the types of gym routines modern humans concede as beneficial but frequently ignore?
2 Answers 2015-12-18
For example, French representatives were signatories to the surrenders of Germany and Japan, France had an occupation zone in Germany, and of course France has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. But (metropolitan) France was overrun early in the war, and only rejoined the struggle after liberation. So what made France special?
If it was a matter of having a large resistance movement inspired and sometimes led by a politically powerful government in exile, why wasn't Poland treated similarly?
If it was the large colonial empire, some of which remained unoccupied, why not include the Netherlands or Belgium?
Is there another reason I'm missing? Or was there some other disqualifying factor for countries like Poland and the Netherlands?
3 Answers 2015-12-18
I know they lost the majority of their north american holdings during the 7 years war. Was French North Africa or French IndoChina a thing yet?
1 Answers 2015-12-18
I read that Custer was a poor officer during the civil war.
1 Answers 2015-12-18
I only discovered yesterday that Italy was involved in WWI at all. (I suppose that, from a Western perspective, Italy's involvement in the war was negligible.) I understand that Italy betrayed the Triple Alliance to back the Triple Entente in exchange for Austrian land, then suffered serious casualties during the war but did not make significant gains as a result. What I'm lacking is any sort of detail or context - what spurred Italy to change sides? How the fighting progressed, and how was it different from the fighting in France? Why did the other European powers renege on their deal with Italy and refuse them the land they had claims on at the end of the war?
2 Answers 2015-12-18
I found this in my girlfriend's house in Finland. They said they think their grandfather got it off a Russian train in the 1930s as far as I understand. Could anyone give me more information about it because they didn't seem to have much and I'm interested. Thanks! I included pictures of the hilt markings and the whole sword. It's about 45+cm long maybe.
4 Answers 2015-12-18
Before we start, I must state this. When this was first done on the 14th, Reddit was in the process of falling apart. Thus we did not get the full ability to take questions. If you wish, please look here to see what has been asked and previous answers.
A reminder though, on Monday, the 21st, we will be doing a second AMA focused on Central and Eastern Europe, talking about kingdoms such as Prussia, Austria, Sweden, and Russia, including many people being here the can discuss the impotent Holy Roman Empire.
With the end of the Thirty Years War, Europe was ready to rise out of the ashes of confessional based conflict. While the this war wasn’t purely or primarily focused on confessional beliefs, the the world before it was certainly different than that of after. In this new and long 18th century, we see the rise of Dynastic politics and warfare.
This time period also sees multiple revolutions; the seeds of the industrial revolution is planted in Britain while the seeds of philosophical revolution are planted in Spain under Spinoza and picked up by others with the Enlightenment. There is a revolution of governance, with the strengthening of the State throughout most of Europe, a rise of Enlightened Despots that shaped their kingdoms and the nations to come.
Finally, with the change in government and leaders, we have a change in fashion. Courts become centralized and draw power from this centralization but culture also grows from this. We have the rise of famous courts like Sanssouchi or the ever famous Versailles. Culture becomes more focused and wide spread from single points.
While the West has a long history with multiple currents that shape it to the way it is now, these hundred and fifty one years are highly influential and set up contemporary Europe.
Le Dramatis Personae
/u/hazelnutcream Her expertise is on British Imperial governance at the close of the Seven Years’ War with a focus on the origins of the American Revolution. She also has a particular interest in the place of Britain’s other kingdoms, Scotland & Ireland, and their place within the British Empire.
/u/Itsalrightwithme is focused on Early Modern Europe but with a focus on the Habsburg realms, for today that will be Spain and the Spanish/Austrian Netherlands. He will be happy to answer questions on how Habsburg Spain and it’s successor, Bourbon Spain, reacted to the challenges of the 17th and 18th centuries. n.b. He does not live in the Low Countries.
/u/ColeVintage studies the trade and construction of fashionable consumer goods and how they affected both political movements and their daily life.
/u/alexistheman will be answering questions on His Majesty’s Britannic Royal Government.
/u/elos_ will be speaking about the Spanish and French New World, the genocide of native people’s, and the evils of Colonialism. He may help with mainland France.
/u/Bakuraptor expresses his sincerest regrets that he will not be able to attend as he is traveling.
Finally, /u/DonaldFDraper will express his love for France, particularly the Second Worst part of French history, the ancien regime.
Ask your questions! And we will try our best!
11 Answers 2015-12-18
Did they follow him back to France to rejoin the army? Did they make their way back to France and return to their former ways of life? Did they assimilate into the local population?
3 Answers 2015-12-18
Creation myths in Micronesia speak of human spirits (differentiated from the soul) being forged by a volcano god, using heat and a hammer. They had no metal on the islands, but understood the basics of forging. so Im assuming it was at the very least 2000 BP (the second migration), though it could be before 4000 BP, when they first arrived on the islands.
They considered the Volcano god to be the devil, and the volcano led to hell, so they are pretty much hells angels.
1 Answers 2015-12-18
Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
17 Answers 2015-12-18
I assume this was always a thing among the nobility, but like, was there a medieval equivalent of "keeping up" with your neighbors for peasants and regular folk? The way today people judge themselves and each other in relation to material things like their job, their house, their car, how nice their lawn is, etc.
1 Answers 2015-12-18
1 Answers 2015-12-18
Viking settlements were discovered in L'Anse aux Meadows which proved that the Vikings were first to arrive. Why is it still widely believed that Christopher Columbus was the 1st to arrive?
1 Answers 2015-12-18
