I know that it developed in Europe around the enlightenment.

My question is, did it develop anywhere else before, or unrelated to the Enlightenment?

If there is a better sub for this please point me in the right direction. If there is I will post the question there and link it to here.

I'm more interested in what they said and did before rearming and invading other countries. I know that the real answer here is that they were highly opportunistic and from what I read their economic strategy was to employ out of work Germans in manufacturing, thus building up for an eventual wartime economy. But were they all that socialist? If economic libertarianism was one absolute and centrally planned communism was the other, they seemed fairly middle of the road to me. Thanks!

Additionally, which department of government is charged with deciding on the countries receiving payments, and how is the amount determined?

Generally, how did the spread of Christianity happen if most people couldn't read?

For example:

Germany/Deutschland

Japan/Nippon

I am sure there are countless other examples, but you get the idea.

The 4 languages with which I am familiar use a direct translation of United States. So.....what gives?

The text in question: "for the redemption of my soul and thanks to a great weight of money given to me for this, surrender in perpetuity to St Peter a certain oppression of depraved custom which came down to me not through the right of ancient practice but from the time of my father, who set the little store by first harassing the poor with this [custom]."

This is from "Nivelon of Freteval's Preparations for the Journey" in which he is doing SOMETHING to obtain money for himself for Crusade and his sister and brother to live on I suppose. I'm trying to understand what "custom" is though. I THINK it's land, but I really can't tell.

Can any of you help?

(Proper citation I was provided if it helps: Cartulaire de Saint-Pere de Chartres, 2 vols., ed B. Guerard (Paris, 1840) v. 2, p. 428-429. Translated in L. Riley-Smith and J.S.C. Riley-Smith, eds., The Crusades: Ideal and Reality, 1905-1274 (London, 1981), 98-100)

I'm currently reading an autobiography by C.S. Lewis ('Suprised by Joy') and was a little taken aback by the matter-of-fact way he describes the role of the 'tart' at his school, Malvern College:

"A Tart is a pretty and effeminate-looking small boy who acts as a catamite to one or more of his seniors, usually Bloods [popular seniors] ... The Tarts had an important function to play in making school (what it was advertised to be) a preparation for public life. They were not like slaves, for their favors were (nearly always) solicited, not compelled. Nor were they exactly like prostitutes, for the liaison often had some permanence and, far from being merely sensual, was highly sentimentalized. Nor were they paid (in hard cash, I mean) for their services; though of course they had all the flattery, unofficial influence, favor, and privileges which the mistresses of the great have always enjoyed in adult society .. I ought to know, for one of my friends shared a study with a minor Tart; and except that he was sometimes turned out of the study when one of the Tart's lovers came in (and that, after all, was only natural) he had nothing to complain of."

Was this a common phenomenon at this time (about 1910?) Was it well known outside of public schools, or was it a well-known secret? When did it stop, or become socially less accepted?

I have been increasingly interested in the Ottoman Empire and want to learn more. I was wondering if anyone on AskHistorians has any books that they recommend. I know this is very vague question, but any help is welcomed.

One aspect of the Ottoman Empire that I'm really interested in is how Islam influenced Constantinople after the turks conquered it. If you know of any books or articles that describe this change?

I'm really sorry if this is a stupid question. I'm in the middle of writing an essay on World War I, and I realized this: there are several dates that you could call the "start" of the war:

• June 28 - Archduke assassinated

• July 28 - Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia

• August 1 - Germany declares war on Russia

• August 3 - Germany declares war on France

• August 4 - Great Britain declares war on Germany

Or, am I totally wrong in asking for an "official start date", and instead should just say that "the First World War began in late July of 1914"?

I'm mostly curious about the German-speaking people of the Bernese Alps. Are they mostly of Germanic (Alemanni/Burgundii) stock, or do they speak German as a consequence of cultural transmission? Are they mostly Celtic? Or are they mostly the remnants of a pre-Celtic, pre-Germanic people? Are they some mix of the above?

Thanks.

This is not a question about history, but a question about the study of history.

Computerized GIS (Geographic Information Systems) are commonly used by municipalities to keep track of property lines, building ownership, etc. Clicking on a parcel of land displays all the information about that parcel. I have always thought that this would be a great thing for displaying historical data: Select a year, click a piece of land in Europe and it will tell you the current dominant people, the languages spoken, the current government type, etc. It could be used to graphically display and animate changing reach of a language over time, or other items of interest.

So the question is, does anything like this exist? Is this something that any historians are working with?