At the request of u/sunagainstgold, I repost the question below, which I first posted on Monday:

"Why is the river between the US and Mexico known as the Río Grande in English, but known as the Río Bravo in Spanish? It seems strange that English speakers would use a Spanish-language name different from the one used by actual Spanish speakers."

I look forward to the answer to this question. Thanks!

EDIT: Fixed to properly tag the mentioned user.

How would Roman metalurgy stand-up against that of other (contemporary) cultures and empires (Celts, Britons, Chinese, Indian, Carthaginian, etc)? Was a gladius a comparable weapon or were tactics and numbers more important?

When did the United States decide that the President should have the sole authority to launch a nuclear attack, and why? That seems like too much power for one person to hold.

What's the difference between Greater Nobles and Lesser Nobles? I know there could be differences from period to period, from nation to nation, but I'm fine with knowing what general idea should I have of them.

How is a "classical republic" defined and how does it differ from a modern one? I've found many different explanations from dubious websites, I'm fine even with a book at this point.

Edit: highlighted the main points for better skimming through.

I've been reading about the Battle of Midway and it seems that a significant amount of damage was caused amongst the IJN carriers by bombs penetrating the flight deck and detonating amongst the fuel & ammunition stored in the hangers below.

Was anything done to change this in later designs and future classes of Aircraft Carriers?

I'm a silversmith in mid-medieval Europe. The local lord comes by and wants some new cutlery, goblets, and candlestick holders for his daughter's dowry, as she'll be shortly wed off. What's my fate if I don't get the order done on time?

Two brief questions.

I have been watching WW2 in Color on Netflix and I feel as though I fell into another time line.

1: Poland never actually attacked German armor with cavalry, right? The entire notion of cavalry charging with sabers drawn is a fabrication, and it was actually the Axis who had the least success with cavalry during WW2, right?

2: How is Hermann Göring so fat? Did no one mention anything to him? Lay off on the schnitzel? The Germans were obsessed with appearances, especially in the armed forces so that had to have made someone cross.

In Kind Hearts and Coronets, one of Alex Guiness' characters is a somewhat foppish aristocrat who loves photography and seemingly neglects his wife. Most modern critics see this as a code for homosexuality, is that how audiences in 1949 would take it?

How similar was Roman wine to wine you might buy today? Did they have white wine in the ancient world?

@RealtimeWWII finished it's 6yr real time tweeting of key events from WW2 this week (It's restarting the entire exercise this September). Are there any other 'realtime' historical twitter feeds that anyone knows of? I found the realtime pacing very helpful to understanding events.

I know that @samuelpepys is half way through his diaries.

Thanks

Why does no one ever ask questions about the Peruvian internal conflict? I want to answer stuff. Fuck.

Did Richard Nixon enjoy a good amount of support from either the Republicans or his base of voters at the height of the Watergate scandal?

Hey long time ago I read about two guys(Venezuelan and Romanian) who went to North Korea and criticized the leader that this was not communism.They were sent to prison camp and were the only foreigners to be sent there.Later the Romanian was freed and he even wrote a book.I found his amnesty on the Internet.Can someone tell me the names of this two men because I cannot recall it and by searching in google I find nothing :/

Thank you !

What's with all the Prince Ivans in Russian/Slavic folklore? Do they all trace back to a famous Prince Ivan (like the Terrible), or is there some other historical importance to the name?

I realize this is only at the boundaries of the 20 year rule, but I'm curious about how memoirs can contribute to historical research. Specifically, I'm wondering how memoirs captured digitally are treated for posterity.

• Would historians treat documents only created digitally different from paper sources?
• Is metadata considered credible or would it be unique to the document?
• Does a ghostwriter capturing another person's memoir affect its historical significance?

I may be a little late to the party with this, but I'm looking for some good texts on the Baltic States. I've just moved to Riga and I'm trying to get a better feel for how the 20th century played out in this place. Talking to people has been fantastic, but the institutions aren't much of a help. The occupation museum here is privately funded by an American-based organization, and I was pretty disappointed in the material and it's presentation. It's mostly for tourists and tended to whitewash a lot of collaboration (with both Germany and the USSR).

Who are the major academics doing English-language history on the Baltics? What are the significant works, post-1991? Any good hints on what to read to better grasp the current internal politics?

Thanks!

EDIT: I'm not necessarily looking for post-'91 history, rather historical works that have been completed since independence and the opening of the archives.

Could England have coerced America back into its clutches by the end of the 1760s? If they used force, the colonies would have revolted, and if they ignored the colonies' transgressions, power would have been lost anyway. Was there something Parliament / King George could have done?

Thanks.

I would like to read Caesars war commentaries and I am aware there are many different translations. Since I have no background in history I was wondering if anyone could recommend a translation suitable for someone who might need a bit of context or explanation. I hope I'm not breaking any rules with this question!

I remember as a child going on a trip to a fort near Canadian and US border. There they said during the US civil war the forts prepared for defender against a British attack because they feared the British would side with the south in the name of the cotton trade

Is this true?

Is there any possibility the British would have attacked to secure cotton?

I have been printing some labels for some naval models, and I am curious if IJN Nagato was officially classed as a "Nagato Class Battleship" or as a "Nagato Class Dreadnought"?

In a similar vein, would the Kongou class have been classed as a "Battleship" "Fast Battleship" or "Battlecruiser"?

Greetings, I'm currently looking for a couple of books that cover 'the bone war' between Marsh and Cope (and Leidy). I'm already looking into Rea's "Bone Wars: The Excavation Of Andrew Carnegie's Dinosaur."

I've heard that, under international law, it is a war crime (or otherwise illegal) for soldiers to use captured enemy vehicles, under a clause which prohibits the use of enemy markings on vehicles used in combat. Was this accurate, and if so, were any cases prosecuted, whether or not there were other circumstances at play (medical emergency, for example)?

What was the American Civil War about?

Hello! Long time lurker! How and when did black cars become a symbol of privacy and luxury?

I have been looking for data - or sources but just the data would be fine - on the German import export from 1914 to 1945.

From what I can find, the German Institute of Statistic only provides data from 1950 on.

I have some Italian data for the period and I have been trying to put together an estimate of the exhanges between Germany and Italy leading to and during WW2 - which becomes especially hard for the 1943-45 years...

Anyways, any source or suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks!

What are some good books for a layman who is interested in the history of the Roman Empire? It occurred to me recently that I know basically nothing about it, as it wasn't taught in my schooling, and I don't really know where to start.

We're confederate soldiers drafted or could they choose to not fight?

In various sources on the P-63 Kingfisher (an updated version of the P-39 also meant mainly for the Soviets) it's mentioned that these planes specifically were given to the Soviets with the condition that they could only be used against the Japanese once the Soviets had declared war on them (although of course they might have been used against the Germans anyway). I've never seen a good source for this claim though. Was there (more generally) materiel that was given to the Soviets with the condition that it was only to be used against the Japanese?

What was ijn high commands contingency plan in event of successful pearl harbor and Pacific operations?

How much resources could Japan extract out of conquered resources that motivated it? Problems?

Casual one. What's your favorite documentary on a historical event/period/figure/etc?

How much would a gambeson have cost in the 14th century, relative to wages at the time?

Is there any way of knowing how old Spartacus was?

Wikipedia and various sites on the Internet estimate Spartacus to have been about 40 years old (born c. 111 BC) at the time he led the Third Servile War against Rome but no citation is ever given for this. What could this be based on? If he was a deserter from the army who had been chosen as a gladiator for his strength then I would expect him to be younger and more in the prime of life. Could he have just as well been in his 20s?

At what period of time in were horse-drawn wagons and cars on the streets of cities in relatively equal numbers?

When was the word "comrade"first used in relation to Communism and why?

Meta question. Is IFTTT not working for anyone? It's not sending me any emails.

King arthur from the Matter of Britain was inspired by some real king? if yes, who?

During the Roman-Sassanid wars, I vaguely remember two amusing incidents: one where a general was defeated, gathered some peasants and said he had a conquering army, and another were Roman and Persian forces both thought themselves outnumbered and fled away from each other. Can anyone point me to the relevant sources?