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Today, every substantial piece of land on Earth is claimed by some sovereign nation. (Notwithstanding disputed areas such as Bir Tawil, micronations with dubious claims of sovereignty, and such.) When was the last time this was not the case? When was the last time a country made a claim to a previously unclaimed area and had that claim internationally recognized as a part of its territory? What was this area?
I was not able to find a quick answer on Wikipedia; apologies if I missed something obvious.
Are there any accounts of what combat between war elephants was like? I mostly hear about their matchups with infantry or cavalry, but what about elephant on elephant fights?
Where did the stereotype that Germans have no sense of humour come from? Prussian bureaucrats? Or something newer or older?
Several European languages, such as Italian, French, Spanish or Portuguese, descend from Latin and developed after the germanic invasions of the 5th century. However, England was also dominated by the Roman Empire for a few centuries until the conquest of the Angles and Saxons; but unlike the aforementioned languages, English is a mostly Germanic language, with very few characteristics of Latin. Why is this the case?
Has there been any recent discoveries of ancient civilizations that have been discovered under the ocean? It's often found around the mediterranean and black sea. I'm curious if any African or Persian discovers as such has been made of recent? Thanks
Were herbs transported the way spices were in the 17th/18th century? I mean were they transported at all, and if so, how? Or was the spice trade really mostly limited to spices.
Was Mp38/Mp40 the first firearm to use metal folding stock?
How much would a Roman scorpion weigh?
What happened to mixed-blood Jews during the mid 30's to early 1940's in Nazi Germany? Were they persecuted as much as the traditional Jew?
How did people sleep in the trenches of WWI?
Why is there seemingly no information on the isthmian region between South America and Mesoamerica in precolumbian history? Was no evidence found that people inhabited it, modern-day challenges that prevent anthropologists/historians from learning more about it, or something else?
Is there a book that shows the progression of Minoan culture instead of just periods?
What are some solid books on the gangsters and gambling era of Hot Springs, Arkansas?
Why did the survivors of the Franklin Expedition in the Arctic take luxuries with them after abandoning the ships and dragging the boats? I remember reading they took a whole table with them
What are some good sources on the effects of firebombing cities? I'd like to know about the entire experience from warnings to rebuilding that happened in different cites.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a research subject on the early modern period? I'm writing a paper for uni, and it has to be a subject where I can come with some new insights - I need to have something useful to contribute to the existing historiographical debate, so preferably a topic that doesn't have plenty of literature written about it already.
In the last half of the 1800s, how long would somebody have to go to med school to qualify to be a physician or a surgeon in England?