Maybe this does not belong here, but here goes nothing!

In my research of come across sources in foot notes abbreviated "desp."

Examples:

Great Britain, Desp., Vol. 6 MS. Dept. of State

Cape Haitien, Consular Desp., vol. 1, MS. Dept. of State.

What does desp. mean?! I'm desp. erate for an answer!

What sort of fabrics would be found on the seats in an 18th century castle? I've actually been on tour of several such, but I have no idea at all what materials I was looking at. What was luxurious then?

Without breaking the 20 year rule and promoting a political agenda, exactly who is George Soros and what is his history before 1997 and his relationship to Globalization?

Which was the first and last animal to be domesticated? Which animal seems to be 'domesticable' but has not been?

Where were chickens first domesticated?

I'm a rising high school freshman. For the program I will be in, I have to do a long term (2 year) 'research' project that has to be presented at the end of my sophomore year. I put research in quotations because this project is extremely open ended and can be about anything - an 11th grader in the program did his project on zombies and how an infection causing it would spread and the ramifications of such a disease, just to give you an idea.

I read about Vladimir the Great and how he essentially started the Christianization of the Rus; I also read that he also considered Islam, Judaism, and a few others, also. My project would explore the effects of a Muslim/Jewish Russia throughout history (key events occurring between the 11th to 20th centuries). Is this topic too broad or too limited? Could this potentially go into bad history territory? I'm not searching for any information, just advice. Thanks.

In Kind Hearts and Coronets, one of Alex Guiness' characters is a somewhat foppish aristocrat who loves photography and seemingly neglects his wife. In 1949, would this have been widely understood as a code for homosexuality, as many modern reviewers assert?

What did Hamilton mean by this quote at the Federal Convention in 1787?

"We are now forming a republican government. Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments."

What I'm most interested is his use of the term "moderate governments".

How did people refer to clockwise and counterclockwise motion before clocks were invented?

I can guess where the word breakfast comes from, where does lunch and diner come from?

How did leaders communicate orders to armies that we're tens of thousands of men big?

I was told in an unrelated subreddit that curved swords, such as the falcata or kopis, were primarily intended for use by cavalry.

I was under the impression that curved swords were intended to enhance cutting/slashing, or to aid in getting around shields at the time, and that regardless of mount, such weapons were sidearms.

So, were swords curved swords ever the primary weapon of ancient horsemen, or for that matter, infantrymen?

Where most of the kids that were rescued/survived concentration camps ended up? Considering their parents or any relative died during the Holocaust. Was it common for them to end in orphanages across Germany and Poland? 

Who was the last Roman governer of Britannia primera and did he retire to Britain or did he return to Rome upon Rome's abandonment of the isle?

Mughal jagirdar system, Ottoman timar system and Russian pomestye seem like they are the same thing, are they really? What makes the same institution to develop independently in some parts of the world (but not in others)?

Comparing / systemising social arrangements in different places seems like an interesting topic in general, would love to read something about it (not necessarily with forms of land ownership in focus).

Any book recommendations on Renaissance sea traders? I'm interested in more of a zoomed-in perspective rather than a broad societal one, i.e. learning about what trade was like from a trader's perspective, how they conducted trade and found buyers and sellers, how far they could take a trade route and what the risks were, how they determined what to buy/sell and where, etc. That general class of "what was it like to do this" things.

After flipping through some photos it seems the US military has flip flopped on whether their Chevrons are pointing up or down. Is there any real reason other than "it looks better this way"?

After Korea was split, what happened to all the roads and such that connected the north and south?

Hello all! I'm having trouble finding a book. Any recommendations for a book on the creation of the United States Coast Guard?

Hello just quick question if I understand it correctly: Yorks and lancasters are plantagenets. Yorks are not lancasters. Tudors are lancasters. Tudors are plantagenets. Tudors are not yorks.

If I am wrong could you please explain who is who? Am a bit confused, thanks.

The original printing of Julia award Howe's Battle Hymn of The Republic has a text at the bottom that reads:

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by TICKNOR AND FIELDS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

What is this referring to? The poem? The magazine? What Act of a Congress are they referring to? Why was it entered at the District Court?

Does anyone have a recommendation for an accessible history of one or more of the following wars: -1948 Arab Israeli war -1956 Suez Crisis -Six Day war -Yom Kippur war

When did the term "The Holocaust" become commonly used to refer to the events during WWII? If not right away, what did people refer to it as? simply the elimination of Jews? (or some other variant of this)

Can we cite podcasters like Dan Carlin and Mike Duncan?

How many confederate troops were left in the C.S.A army when the nation capitulated to union forces in 1865?

How is Robert Caro rated by historians? He definitely does plenty of research, but I assume he's not maybe the most objective since things seem to have to fit his narrative. For example, in Path to Power he seems to trash totally trash Hoover and praise FDR, maybe it's not totally undeserved but there seemed to be an obvious bias to me. I do love his writing though and there certainly is a lot to learn.

I watched a documentary on Netflix titled 'Is Genesis History' which ended up being a focus on the family, religious propoganda piece and I was exceptionally disappointed.

Are there any good Documentaries/books that explore views on basically 'should we treat the book of Genesis as history'?

Hortensius apparently tried to get a court case adjourned so he could show off go home and water his garden with vintage wine. Assuming that's true, do we know how the judge reacted or what case was being tried?

Thanks.

Why did Cuba not participate in the 1908 - 1920 olympics?

Thanks!

When Alice Stockham published "Tokology" and "The Lover's World: A Wheel of Life", was she ever prosecuted under the Comstock laws?

If you could dig anywhere in the world and the only demand is breaking even pretending you work minimum wage. What would you try to dig for as a relic and where and how deep?

Question: have there been no good documentaries released in the last 2 years?

Context: was watching oliver stone's untold history but the ww2 bit shows a lot of clear bias. I found another thread discussing it (untold history) and the link on the side bar that shows good documentaries on various subjects, but it was last modified 2 years ago. Not sure how and where to ask this as it's a bit meta but also against the rules, sorry mods if I wasted your time.

Did anything important happen in Caserta while the Bourbons had an active palace there (ie: people were living in it full-time or even part-time)?

What are some examples of ancient civilizations' explanations for rainbows?

Hi, probably more of an odd question but can someone point me towards online statistics for Television in the late 80s and 90s. I'm looking more specifically for the most popular/flagship shows of the major networks to better understand the state of TV (the sort of programming on) in that specific era.

Who are top 5 greatest Roman emperors?

Who are top 5 greatest Byzantine emperors?