As in he was a vassal of the king of France, so logically his conquest would have resulted in gain for the French crown too. Did William declare independence, taking his French lands with him? Or was it more complicated than that?

Considering that the Emperor was technically the head of state while real power being held by the shogunate, and the shoguns themselves more often than not being de facto heredity positions, could any/all of the three shogunates of Japan be considered de facto diarchies?

Early 17th or late 16th, did soldiers mostly use firearms or were soldiers with firearms the minority?

I think everybody knows that storks are often depicted as carrying babies to expecting parents, but I learned the reason that it's storks that carry them is that storks live in swamps, and it was once believed that the souls of children once originated in the swamp. Why was this? Was there a folklore rationale for baby souls coming from swamps?

I'm just wondering if the guy who, among other things, had people bludgeoned and force-fed castor oil, worked well with children.

Both Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth 1 have been depicted as a hero or a villain depending on the source. Mary in particular is often depicted as either power-hungry and grasping for the throne, or as being forced into reaching for the throne by other Catholic monarchs and/or her countrymen. Which depiction is a more accurate presentation of Mary and her values?

From what I understand, South Africa has historically been one of the more modern and economically stable nations on the African continent. Even during the Apartheid years in the 20th century, South Africa seems to be treated as a western nation up with the rest of Britain's former commonwealth states.

So being the most southern point on the African continent, South Africa has some legitimacy towards Antarctica as well. While a lot of Antarctic claims are due to power projection of globalist nations (US, Britain, France, Russia, Norway), other claims to the frozen continent come from nations very close by geographically, namely Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Argentina. Even though some of these nations are regional powers at best, their proximity to Antarctica gives them a legitimate claim, from what I understand.

But South Africa seems to stand out, as being both in proximity to Antarctica and a regional power projection, and yet has no claimed Antarctic territory.

What was some of the historical reasons behind this?

Hi,

I read much about slavery in islamic countries. That it was not the same like in the „west“, but nevertheless large in size and quantity. White slaves were expensive, while african slaves were more cheap for most of the time and for most countries in the islamic Middle East.

But while we can see everywhere afro-americans, -brazlians, -carribeans, there are no large communities of african-turks, -iranians, -syrians etc. In Turkey there are only a few hundred to thousand african-turks.

Hence the question, where are they?

Dear /r/AskHistorians,

Hello! This is a junior history major here. I'm looking for where the popular phrase "bringing the empire home" comes from. I know that it must feature in at least a thousand article, book and chapter titles and captions. You'd think that that level of ubiquity would make it an easy question, but I've had no luck so far.

I'd like to use the idea as a device for understanding 18th century London history for a paper that I'm writing, but I'd like to know the provenance of the phrase first.

Thank you all in advance!

The transition process of feudalism into capitalism is generally known but how did feudalism come about anyways?

Is it really only as old as the trial of John Wayne Gacy and the release of Stephen King's "IT" in the 1980s? Or does it go back much further in history?

(title).

I've heard from various old people I know that Santa used to wear different colours, before the coca cola ads. I've also heard, from other old people, that he didn't.

Today its very widespread with many countries legalizing or tolerating its use. Its a plant that can grow in many climates so I was wondering how common it was for the average Ancient human (Ancient being more 1500 years ago, although I would appreciate any interesting information). Thanks!

Was wondering if anyone knew what type/class of destroyer the ship that gets torpedoed in Dunkirk is, or is based off? Thanks

My admittedly hazy impression of Alexander's life is that once he started conquering, he never really stopped campaigning and didn't spend much (if any) time in Macedonia itself. So what role did Macedonia actually play in this new empire? Was it a centre of administration/trade/economy that still played a significant role, or did it become a relative backwater? Did it grow more wealthy due to plunder being sent home etc? Was there new monumental architecture?

I've been reading the fantastically well researched book by David Berresford called Ten Men Dead: The Story of the 1981 Irish Hunger Strikes.

One Stirring passage reads:

"Hunger-striking, when taken to the death, has a sublime quality about it; in conjunction with terrorism it offers a consummation of murder and self sacrifice which in a sense can legitimize the violence which precedes and follows it. If after killing or sharing in a conspiracy to kill-for a cause one shows oneself willing to die for the same cause, a value is adduced which is higher than that of life itself. But the obverse is also true: failure to die can discredit the cause. To scream for mercy at the foot of the gallows or nod at the saline drip as kidneys and eyes collapse and the doctor warns of irreversible damage—is to affirm that there is no higher value than life and none more worthy of condemnation than those who take it."