And as a side question: Is there any one thing we could go back in time and change, to make it be French or some other language instead?

There are excellent threads that explain how Japan modernized, but they didn't go into detail about reactions from the West to the modernization.

I'm curious as to how the West was changed politically and culturally. I know Japan had rocky relations with Russia, and that Japanese art influenced European painters, but that is about it.

I'm studying the Decline of the British Empire and the foreign and defence policies behind it, and I realised there was a large hole in the course. It focusses on the reforms made to the military before the First World War but not the Navy.

How much did the navy change pre-war? And, for my own knowledge, how much did the changes to the navy affect the British public? (I know of the "We want 8" campaign, anything similar)

Or at any time for that matter. Of course commanders and medics would have watched a battlefield, but I'm curious if there were any civilian spectators who were not involved in the battle in any way. It seems that a battle would be fascinating to watch, and perhaps relatively safe if both sides were only attacking other soldiers.

Thanks for any answers!

For example, what was their plan for the global power structure of they won? Did they ever fight together in the same battle?

Was it mostly tradition, or did they serve a purpose?

I've very recently decided to switch from taking psychology into honours to taking classics into honours. I would like to do an M.A. in War Studies (or something very similar) and am wondering what I can do to become better at studying history/improve my chances of getting a first/improve my chances of getting into a good uni for a masters.

Obviously reading will probably help but if anyone has anything more to offer I'd really appreciate it!

I just finished watching the last episode of the new Norwegian television series "The battle for heavy water", which focuses on the race to build the bomb during World War 2, and the role of Norway's heavy water production.

In the last episode there's a scene where the German scientist Heisenberg is discussing his calculations with his friend and assistant. They don't seem to know why they are wrong until Heisenberg seemingly thinks of something new, does some calculations on a blackboard and smiles to his friend. While they never speak about it, and the scene never outright shows if they are right, it is heavily implied that Heisenberg managed to get the theory and calculations behind the bomb figured out before the war ended. The next scene shows a wet sponge that they've used to erase the calculations.

So my question is, how accurate is the show in this regard? Did Heisenberg really manage to develop the theory behind the bomb before the war ended, but choose not to share the information with German command? Assuming Germany did get the knowledge in the last months of the war, would they even have been able to make a bomb in time?

I hear all the time about how the Great Wall of China was ineffective in actually stopping raiders. Did this cause an type of political strife that we would see today for such a massive project to fail?

How was it's acceptance and information (i.e. exactly how long or heavy the unit was) spread?

After, or before, Columbus discovered the new world did anyone decide to try the same thing from Asia?

Edit for clarification: In school we learn a lot about westward expansion from the eastern settlers heading west, and we learn very little about Asian settlers landing in California. Who was the person who first discovered the route to the Americas from Asia?

Comparing them to modern university's, what was the enrollment process like? and how were students selected?

Also once selected how did students pay for their education? Did it have to be one large payment, or were they allowed to pay in increments? Was there anything roughly equivalent to a modern student loan?

I've heard that it might have been Vice President Dallas, but I'm not sure.

While playing a game of Europa Universalis IV, as the Mongols, I encountered the Christian kingdoms of the West and began to wonder "How was the interaction between these two peoples?".

After a series of Google searches, I learned that in the times before the conversion of the Golden Horde and Chagatai khanates, as well as the Ilkhanate, the Mongol empire consisted of many people discovering other faiths and converting to them. I was surprised to know that even as far as China, Christians were somewhat substantial in the Mongol ranks, as well as Buddhists as far as the Middle East, and finally Islam as empire wide as others. I did not know that Christian and Muslim missionaries alike gained substantial followings to the point that Karakoram was one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Upon hearing about this, I delved a little deeper into finding that the Great Khan himself hosted religious debates to determine which religions was "correct". The most famous one, from what appears to me, seems to have been publicized in Karakoram in 1253, documented by William of Rubruck, a Flemish Roman Catholic missionary.

I was also able to find various letters between Khans and Kings of France, and sometimes the Pope. However these letter begging for conversion of the Mongols seemed to have been rather uneasy, as every time a letter was sent out, the Mongols would reply with a maybe on the condition of ceding the entirety of one's holdings and vassals to the Khan.

We all know from history class that a lot of the generals that invaded the Middle East held deep hatreds for Islam, and were extremely friendly with the Christian nations in Georgia, to the point of sparing Christians in cities where most inhabitants were slaughtered, the prime example in Baghdad, as well as intermarrying with a somewhat sizable amount of the Caucasian royalty.

So I'll wrap it up by asking again, How influential was Christianity in the Mongol Empire? What caused the Mongols to turn away from their Christian allies and vassals for Islam in 3 of the 4 Khanates? How close was Christianity to being adopted by the majority? Was Christianity more of a fad to the Mongols then an actual serious commitment when converted?

Sorry if I come off as annoying and rather biased in favor of Christianity, I just had no idea that it actually had attention payed to it. I assumed the Mongols just separated themselves from the conquered peoples until later years when Khanates became a little more localized.

Thanks for reading my wall. :)

I came across a British term in grad school for a cannon traditionally fired in colonial India to signal the time of day when it became socially acceptable to drink alcohol. I emailed my old professor, but she's at a loss.

I possibly recall the term itself including the time of day (e.g. The Evening Gun, The 11'Oclock Blast) or a reference to alcohol (e.g. The Gin Cannon, Booze Boom..nah jk). There is a precedent for gun times in the British Empire, such as the Noon Cannon in Halifax, so I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining this.

Any referrals to similar practices in other cultures are also welcome.

I feel like the average person these days would never consider actually rapping someone, even with no consequence I couldn't imagine doing that. Is that through education or something with our brains?