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It seems to me that while Acemoglu and Robinson, in their book "Why Nations Fail", discuss the historical evolution of England at considerable length, they almost totally neglect the Netherlands (except as having embraced industrialization along with political inclusion after the Batavian state period). They talk about England as being the first truly inclusive society, both politically and economically, especially after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 (in which William III of the Netherlands was victorious and became the English king). But the Netherlands, in the 1600s, was a major trading power with a high standard of living for its day - and England (and Britain as a whole) followed suit. So was Holland in fact the first inclusive society - politically and economically - along with England (or even before England)? And why doesn't the book talk about Holland in the same manner as England - because Holland's political development was disrupted by Napoleon more than England's?

After reading Vergil, I couldn't help but notice many similarities between Jesus and Aeneas. I've also noticed similarities between Jesus and the plethora of other demigods throughout myth and history. I'm proposing the possibility that Jesus adapted Greco-Roman mythology for Judaism, but I have yet to find an answer to this question.

interested in learning about how the first world war decimated the power of the British Aristocracy and lead the way to a more socialist society and paved the way for the welfare state post ww2. many thanks!

Obviously what we have now are written versions that have been translated. For someone who was telling the story of Beowulf at a party in the mead hall, would they have just told it as a story or would they have kept with the alliterative pattern that is present in the surviving manuscript. Was something like the alliteration (in Beowulf's case) or other literary or poetic devices something that was added by those who wrote it down or would they have been present in 'original' oral version?

The Phoenician civilization sprang up right about the time its surrounding empires fell. Not only sprang up, but prospered. They were the only game in town for quite a while. It always seemed a little strange to me, they actually profited, but nothing I've read has even hinted at this idea, let alone refuted it.

Im very interested in the topic, if anyone knows any good readings on the subject or could formulate a somewhat general answer I would be very thankful indeed!

I've heard several times that the 'proportional representation' in Weimar Germany was negative and helped bring Hitler to power, but I don't understand why or how

Has there ever been German opposition to Hitler based on him being Austrian? I know that there are Bavarian-Prussian/South-North issues in Germany, but did the North Germans not have an issue with a naturalized citizen from so far south that it crosses the border creating such a fuss in their country? Was there never such issues?

When Austria was invaded and annexed, did Austrians regard Hitler as an Austrian or as a German? Was there any kind of "he's one of our own" sentiment or was Hitler basically a German to them?

I know that (at least before Gorbachev) every industry in the USSR was state owned, everyone was assigned a job by the government etc. What I'm interested in is how did Soviet rubles work? Were you just allowed to go and buy as much stuff as you wanted? If people had goods provided for them by the government then what were rubles for? Could anybody have more cash than anybody else?

I know this is probably a bit of a noob question but I'm really interested how a planned economy makes currency work, seeing as I can't imagine it being used for anything apart from buying goods in some kind of marketplace.

Recently, I saw the move Memphis Belle on Blue-ray. When I saw the movie, I noticed there was a hatch over the ball turret that had to be locked and could only be opened from the top. I was wondering why this was, because as seen in the movie, the gunner could be trapped in there, hanging for his dear life. My Dad thought it was so other crew members couldn't fall in, but that doesn't explain why the hatch was locked. I hope you can answer this. :)

I say "medieval" because I am not quite knowledgeable on the proper terms. I know we are talking a span of hundreds of years that people call colloquially "medieval." But is there basis in Western history for the stereotypical group of bandits that have their own fortress or camp that just survive on crime?

Chickens are pretty ubiquitous, both as animals and as meat. But they seem like they'd be pretty poor at surviving in the wild (even before humans began selectively breeding for large breast meat), and had to have come from somewhere.

So, where did they come from? What did they come from? When and where were they first domesticated? And how did they spread throughout the world to become a (tasty) primary protein source?

What would you say was a consequence of Ottoman rule, or some consequences, for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East?

That quote is paraphrased, I don't remember exactly what was said. But basically the movie is set at the Wannsee Conference in 1942 where the SS are discussing how to implement the Holocaust. The head of the SS is using words like "evactuation/relocation" and finally one of the lower-ranked field officers has had enough. He interjects with a pointed comment about how it certainly didn't look like "relocation" when he had to force Jewish civilians into ditches and shoot them.

Assuming the movie is historically accurate, was there a lot of underlying friction between Nazi leaders (who presumably didn't get their hands dirty) and the people who had to actually perform the dirty work?

During WWI King Albert I of Belgium fought in the trenches alongside his countrymen (so I am told) did he ever 'go over the top' to attack the Germans?

Say a knight died in a battle or personal combat, what happened to their squire.Were they treated as enemies by the opposing force?