Hopefully this is enough of a "history" question for this sub, also I'm talking about this from a US perspective. I'm of mixed race (mestizo and white), and have always had trouble with surveys/polls/census asking me my racial identity. The main reason is that these surveys always have white/black/asian/native/other as options for race, and then hispanic/latino as a separate question.

In my experience, this isn't just for latinos though...I don't really see options for "arab" or any of the various races/ethnicities of the indian subcontinent on surveys or the census.

I guess my question is really what has given rise to our current understanding of what constitutes a "race", and why is it generally only broken down along black vs white vs asian vs native? Additionally, you get sub-categories for races such as Asian (Vietnamese vs Korean vs Japanese, etc), but for latinos there really isn't recognition for racial difference between, say, Dominican vs Mexican vs Peruvian.

I'm guessing that the answer has something to do with linguistics and social history more than anything (why should US census differentiate various races on the Indian subcontinent), but Latinos seem much more prevalent in US society than other "foreign" races. Wouldn't it be more important to racially separate the peoples of central/south america, or am I just being biased by recent increases in latino populations in the US?

Probably enough/too many questions at this point. Any guidance would be much appreciated.

So i read somewhere where it said that roman cavalry would dismount before engaging enemy. Because horses were smaller back than and fighting from horse was hard.How true is this ?

While doing the New York Times crossword today, I wondered about the crossword's origins in print. As a follow-up, how did the modern newspaper puzzle section (i.e. Sudoku, Kenken, etc.) come into being? This question is a bit obscure, but my curiosity is piqued. Hopefully someone can answer!

I.e. doesn't speak via prophets, or small groups.

Some people will tell me that they were started because of Muslim incursions into North Africa.

Where they professional or were they bent to a certain outcome (such as certain crimes could not take place in the Soviet Union - such as murder - and so they did not happen and another cause was found)?

I have not found much in terms of historical records of Soviet era police history.

From the Boston Celtics, to the stereotypical Irish cop on the streets, to the countless movies and TV shows portraying Irish Bostonians with their typical Southie accents and shamrock tattoos, to the many Celtic Rock bands from the Boston area, it seems this phenomenon is well understood. Does Boston simply have an extremely high proportion of Irish Americans? If so, when did this immigration occur, and why Boston, as opposed to any other major American city?

If this is a phenomenon that has occurred within the past 20 years, please feel free to remove this question.

While in an archaeology museum, I recently came across a grave marker for a woman who married her former master and had two sons with him. I was under the impression that the master could take the slave as a lover but wouldn't marry her, this marker seems to contradict that. Any information would be immensely helpful.

I've heard that he got some facts wrong. If possible, would you be able to list them for me?

And in tandem with that question, what did they eat?

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I have to write a paper on this topic, and I am finding a hard time coming up with talking points. The spirit of the question is not asking why war broke out (what caused it), but why some people (intellectuals and artists) thought it would be a good thing. Here is the full question:

It has been said that Europeans both dreaded and hoped for war leading up to 1914. Why did some intellectuals and artists receive news of the war enthusiastically when it broke out?

This is for a second-year university paper (2500 words) in a European history course. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello /r/AskHistorians! I need help researching Native Americans in the Plains. Since I'm from the Rock Island area, I was curious to learn more about the Sauk Tribes and Chief BlackHawk. I'm working on a screenplay that has two half brothers (one 1/2 Native Am, one full) join together to fight a common enemy that controls much of the fur trade. I want to know where I should look for information on early White settlers in the 1800s Midwest, and the Natives during this time period. Although I may take some liberties historically, I would like the Native Americans be authentic and accurate.

So here's a background. Thank you all in advance, anything will help!

Screenplay Background:

    Setting: "Pioneer Times" in the Midwest.
    Protagonists: Same Native mother, different fathers.
    Premise: Brothers team-up to find a common enemy.

Writer Goals:


    Cinematic like a classic western
    Honest portrayal of the Natives
   Accurate portrayal of Fur Trade 
    Characters: well rounded, dynamic, and most importantly, authentic.

What where the repercussions of slave murder?

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For personal reasons, I've become very invested in Korean history and culture. I have quite a bit of information in regards to the Sejong Era of Korean history, but I can find little in the way of more modern history, especially for the past century. For the stuff I do find, it's invariably A) More about North Korea and its relation to South Korea and inevitably B) The Korean War. It's as if that's all Western historians care about in regards to Korea, which I find somewhat depressing.

I want to know how Korea turned from what was essentially a backwater at the turn of the 20th century, literally cut in half by a war, and in 50 short years became one of the most advanced, richest countries on the planet. And I believe this can be attributed to its history, particularly its history in the 19th and 20th centuries. I know in regards to the 20th century the Korean War had something to do with that, but that simply can't be the only thing.

So I'm looking for anything and everything that can help me out here. Books, documentaries, podcasts, you name it, I want it. My google-fu has failed me in this regard, and although there's some information I can find by perusing Korean texts, my Hangul isn't good enough to make reading them not a chore.

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