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Bosnian war question

I have a friend from Bosnia...He was in the war. The first time I asked him about the war he stiffened up and said it was a long story and he doesn't want to talk about it. The most I got out of him is that he is muslim, but he said he fought for both sides and after that he says he doesn't want to talk anymore...My question is how or why would he fight for both sides?

2 Answers 2014-01-26

How come Cornwall is considered English while Wales is not?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

What is the oldest religion, ie. earliest record of worship of a deity?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

How present was the mafia in the post WWII era?

Admittedly, I am very uneducated on this, which is why I am asking, but be warned, the question might be a little vague.

Anyway, reading the (fictional) works of James Ellroy and other noir books or movies, I always got the impression that mobsters like Mickey Cohen were day-to-day superstars, almost like celebrities and somehow I have trouble imagining this. Sure, the people probably knew about him, but was he that present in day to day life? Did people like him have that much influence and power that they were untouchable? Any insight would be great.

Thanks.

1 Answers 2014-01-26

For the economic historians out there, would the Third Reich have economically collapsed if they had not gone to war and confiscated other nations wealth?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

Why did the Lorica Segmentata become the foremost armor both before and after the use of chain mail? What was special about the period that favored it? Why did plate not gain prominence again for a thousand years?

3 Answers 2014-01-26

What were the "trusts" that gave the Trust Busting presidents, Roosevelt and Taft, their fame, and are they similar to today's corporations?

What defines a "trust", why did the presidents seem them as bad, and are there any similarities between, i.e. a railroad company in 1899 to Time Warner Cable?

2 Answers 2014-01-26

Was Marcus Aurelius actually a Philosopher-King as Plato envisioned?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

If someone were to go back in time and kill Adolf Hitler as a child, how would it change the course of history and effect the present day?

People always say how if they could, they would go back and time and kill Hitler before he could come into power, etc. Well, if that were to happen, just how would it affect the course of history and the present day? Would it be beneficial to humanity? Or would it have a negative impact in the long run? What key events would be impacted if there was no Adolf Hitler?

2 Answers 2014-01-26

Do historians tend to lean towards a deterministic or free will based history?

I'm not sure if this has been asked, and I'm not sure if this is the right subreddit to ask this in. I'm not sure if there is a general consensus within the community or if it's not even explored. I am curious on what your opinion or philosophy is on the subject. Thanks.

4 Answers 2014-01-26

Have any other countries historically lost as many people in a war as the USSR did, but come out of the war stronger than before like the USSR managed to do?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

Modern currency uses sophisticated anti-counterfeiting technology such as holograms or specialized paper. How did ancient civilizations deal with/prevent counterfeiting, and how much of an impact would it have on the economy?

Things like coins seems like it they would be easy to create/replicate, especially if they were comprised of non-precious metals. Wouldn't this mean that people would have made fake currency all the time? How can we distinguish counterfeit coins from real coins that we find in field from ancient civilizations?

3 Answers 2014-01-26

In "The Sound of Music," Baron von Trapp was a navy officer, which I assumed was a joke since Austria is a landlocked nation, but I was surprised to learn he had a distinguished military record in WWI... how relevant was Austro-Hungarian naval power in world history?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

What did people think static electricity was prior to a proper theory of electricity?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

Has a country or it's people ever changed their culture/religion/national language by their own choice rather than due to colonization or being forced to do so?

2 Answers 2014-01-26

Have snow forts ever been used in an actual battle?

As I understand it, the most common 'quick & dirty' fortifications are ditches and berms of varying depth/height and complexity. Do we have any records of people 'digging in' using snow instead of (or in addition to) earthen defenses?

Would such a thing even be practical?

I had non-gunpowder conflicts in mind, but answers for any time period are of course welcome!

1 Answers 2014-01-26

The Differing Economies in England, Spain, and the Netherlands in the 17th Century?

Hello all. I'm taking my AP European History midterm tomorrow, and I'm working with some of my peers to create outlines for the possible essay topics. I'm stuck on one of them:

"In the 17th century, England and the Netherlands developed effective capitalist economies, while Spain did not. Why did the economies develop so differently in England and the Netherlands on the one hand, and in Spain, on the other?"

I've been researching this for about 30 minutes and I'm stuck. Can anyone give me a quick idea of where I can go with this? I'd really appreciate any help.

Best wishes.

EDIT: Thought I ought to add some of what I've found so far. It seems that England and the Netherlands tended to expand overseas more, while Spain focused on deriving all profits from American colonies. Do you think that that could be the central idea for this essay? Keep in mind that this is an FRQ - about 1.5 pages written.

1 Answers 2014-01-26

What do we know about the Minoans?

It seems there isn't much, if anything, regarding the Minoans. So lets get the facts straight. What do we know about them?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

What were the differences between Hannibal's victory at Cannae and the Greek victory at Marathon? Weren't they both pincer movements?

If they were, why is Hannibal more universally praised even though the Battle of Marathon preceded Hannibal by several centuries?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

What was the typical M.O. of Viking clans while pillaging villages?

How many of them traveled together at a time, and how did they reach their destinations? Did they ever rape people whose villages they plundered? Did the Vikings really ingest large amounts of alcohol or psychoactive prior to the plunder?

Thanks in advance.

1 Answers 2014-01-26

Were there any examples of Fascist states before 1930's Europe?

Also along those lines: I know a large belief in Fascism is the acceptance of inequality. Does the "inequality" in a Fascist state always equate to racism?

3 Answers 2014-01-26

Is there anything in your field I was probably taught in school, that the historical consensus has since completely changed on?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

I have a few questions regarding colonial-era naval battles.

I found this image while satiating my curiosity over old naval battles.

Can someone tell me a little about the processes of a battle like this? Were there set methodologies for taking a ship, strategies that were trained onto the crewmen for this kind of event? How risky was it for a captain to engage in such fighting on the seas? Were there times that it was generally considered not-good to engage in a fight like this? (times when both ship parties would wait to attack, such as a storm)

Did battles like this happen in the middle of the sea or was it almost always done near land?
How effective were their cannons toward one another?

1 Answers 2014-01-26

Why didn't Nazi Germany's military rise start an arms race in Europe?

It's like Germany invaded 5 countries in quick succession with little difficulty. How? Why didn't those countries prepare for a war? How could they surrender so easily? Hell, Denmark had like only 16 dead.

3 Answers 2014-01-26

I remember reading years ago that Hitler/the German state allowed Hitler's mother's Jewish doctor to emigrate, publicly stating that he was a good man-- is this true? If so, were there any repercussions to this massive break with state ideology?

2 Answers 2014-01-26