I was reading up on the Treaty of Tordesillas on wikipedia, and noticed that it, and some related treaties were ratified by the Pope. Why would the Pope be the one ratifying a treaty. In the modern US at least, the United States Congress has that duty. Why would the Pope, a third party, have this duty and not a member of the governments of either party?

Australia has some really cool words. It is not always clear where they come from. Words like Bogan, Sheila, bubbler are just so unique to Australia. I was wondering why does Australia have this slang? when did it become so widespread (Australia is HUGE) and how did it spread?

It’s for a story I’m writing (yes, it involves the Nazi occupation). What types of names would they have (Jewish, Lithuanian)? What would they wear? Would they eat challah bread? Would they be able to understand the Nazis?

Did the knights patrol the streets? Or was the justice in the hands of the militia? I know about the harsh punishments that faced the evil doers. Bet let's say you stole something off a property, and you may have been caught doing it but for away.

I don't know if I'm on the correct subreddit, but I'll give it a shot.

Why are suits and tuxedos naturally fancy, luxurious, and expensive clothing items? Why is it related to high society and high power positions? How was the suit created and how did it become what it is today?

This never made sense to me, Japanese Army during WW2 was famous in their use and implementation of Air Force in different scenarios and situations yet, i never knew if they ever even tried to take down those planes

So, have they tried to do so? And if not, is it because of lack of information or was it something else?

Hello To all!

I have been trying to study World History for a time now. It all began when I finished reading my Grade 7 Textbook called "Asian History and Civilization" by Teresita Ocampo Santos. While it was interesting I find it to be more of a Summary. Same with the textbook in our 8th Grade "The Essential World History (7th Edition) Philippine Edition by William J Duiker and Kackson J. Spielvogel. In 9th Grade by our curriculum, history was discontinued and replaced with Economics. This lockdown I reread the book and decided that I would like to have more in deep with this Civilizations.

The books dictates the major summary of Timeline of events regarding world History but they don't clarify per say what is the life in each civilization. Such as how do the Economics work in the Sumerian Civilization? How did the Akkads change the daily life of people in Sumeria in regards to Economics, Irrigation, and Religion? Since the textbooks are mostly summaries, I can't seem to get the grasp of what are the major changes in each civilization if I want to think Critically.

Some of the topics are also Inconsistent. In ancient Mesopotamia, for example Neither of those books have depth in explaining how the Military system works in each Civilization, what are the major battles that changed the course of their civs. But then When I read about the Roman Empire Topics, there is a lot of discussion about how they expanded and what means they did and etc.

Because of it I decided that I will restart World History for myself ( I have no problem wit hit since I enjoy reading and learning something new ) however I got confused what if I miss something? What is something essential happened or a detail but I can't or haven't included or read about it? And lastly if there is any good sites to read. Even books. I wanted to learn about history more but I can't know where to start since I feel overwhelmed by the number of events in history.

Thank You very much for reading and hope you can help. I know there is a book thread but I don't know if this is short enough to post this.

It might sound weird, but I really wonder why.

As far as I know, the American legal system is based on common law, which means (at least as far as I know,) there is no codified law but only laws based on precedent cases.

Then, why does America have some strict guidelines of punishments? like, punishment for second degree murder, first degree murder etc.

According to Kate Millet and other radical feminists, patriarchy was the act of female subjugation and exclusion from power by men through all avenues of power including the government, military, universities, science, finance, etc. The main method this is done in is through male sexual domination of women. Radical feminists from the 80s contended that this is a fundamental truth of human history.

To what extent do these definitions apply?

I'm so tired of explanations that just say "Charlemagne... A bunch of states... Its confusing... Napoleon." Like I want a list of every single state, when each one began, when each one ended, all of their rulers, all of their alliances, etc.

If a soldier was listed as missing for over a year he could be declared dead by the government and the life insurance that the government provides could be payed out, $10000.
If they were later found living, what happened to the money?

So, I hope this does not violate the rules in as much as asking a specific, comprehensive question, as I think the discussion would be rather specific.

My family has a story that is bandied about that I find somewhat implausible. It is almost too good of a story- like it came out of a movie or something, so I am curious as to how these things were handled during the American Civil War. I understand no one would be able to prove or disprove it happened, but something along the lines of “Yeah, no, that’s not how any of that worked” or “Yeah, I suppose it could happen” is just fine with me.

Anyway, the story-

My family comes from the Appalachian mountains of NC, specifically Ashe, Avery, Allegheny Counties.

I had a great (a few times over) grandpa that either joined or was conscripted into the 37th North Carolina. He fought several battles and was wounded and taken prisoner at Gettysburg, having lost his left arm. He was put into a POW camp somewhere in Northern Ohio. At this point I have no reason to suspect anything is amiss.

The story continues, however, that he wrote his mother about his predicament and the conditions of the camp. I know medical care was...... rudimentary at the time, even more so in a POW camp I would imagine (Andersonville?). Anyway his mother, a full blooded Cherokee Indian received the letter, and literally walked up to Ohio, made her way to the camp, was able to meet with the Colonel in charge, negotiated for her son’s release to her custody (I find his lack of an arm to possibly make it more plausible as he was not someone who would return to arms) brought him back from Ohio to Ashe County NC, staved off infection using Cherokee know-how, kept him alive and he eventually married and we are all alive because of this event.

If true, holy cow, great great great great (or so) grandma was one hell of a badass.

On the other hand, I cannot imagine civilians, particularly wounded soldiers, could really move freely from the Union to the Confederacy and back again. I also don’t know if a Colonel would/could be like “Ma’am, you make a compelling case, I will release your son post haste.”

So I guess my question really deals with how POW’s were held, if they were ever swapped or “paroled” and how the borders between the belligerents were policed?

Is this plausible, or so implausible to reach the point of de facto impossibility?

Also, for the record, I am not a pro-South, War of Northern Aggression, it was fought over States rights kinda guy- my ancestor took up arms against his nation, in support of a government that recognized and perpetuated one of history’s greatest evils. I am glad his cause lost.

Total novice on this topic so apologies if I'm missing something really obvious here but it seems to me that the Chinese were skilled mariners in the 1400's - the voyages of Zheng He seem particularly impressive. However, after those voyages it appears that the Chinese stopped, or slowed down, or gave up exploring the world by sea in a substantial way. In the same period, multiple European countries seemed to kick into high gear - creating colonies, expanding trade routes, and investing more into naval exploration and colonization. Why didn't China do the same?

Is this just a misconception or did something happen to make the Chinese pull back on naval exploration and overseas colonization? What am I missing?

There must have some Asians, Indians, and other people of color living in the American South, even if those numbers were low. Were they treated as "black"? I'm especially curious about lighter-skinned minority groups like the Japanese.

Hello! I'm looking for a good book recommendation on the history of the North Caucasus. Could anyone recommend anything? Thank you!

The Ottoman Caliphate stands out to me because it's the only caliphate that didn't evolve from something internal. The Rashidun Caliphate became the Umayyad through a leadership change, which became the Abbasid Caliphate through revolution.

The Ottoman Caliphate, by contrast, came to be through the Ottoman Turks invading and taking territory from this previous lineage. It seems to that would stand out to Islamic scholars and leaders of the time, especially those outside the Empire since they might be competing with it for influence.

Were there some Metis that were conflicted or held mixed-views with Louis Riel? How did other Indigenous tribes in Canada and America view Riel? Were there even European settlers from Canada/the United States that supported his views?

This is something that I have wondered for a while. Italy was not burdened with the treaties, reparations, and restrictions that are usually cited as the reason the Nazis were able to gain support.

Were conditions in Italy bad for the average citizen at the time? Did they view WWI as a vain sacrifice, and what they gained from it disproportionate to what they lost? Or did Mussolini simply take control of the government with a minority of support?

Was there popular support for fascism in Italy? Or was it a minority that Mussolini was able to bring to power? Is there something to say about the fact that both Italy and Germany were recently unified nations?

Is there current information about the possibility that the Tuatha Dé Danann were indeed real people who inhabited ancient Ireland? Knowing that the church rewrote history to fit in with their prescribed narrative ,is it possible they twisted the facts to relegate the Tuatha Dé Danann to mythical figures?