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Is 700,000 Palestinians fleeing in 1948 an accurate number?
I've seen a lot of British newspapers, when giving background info on the current Gaza protests, say "during what Palestinians term the Nakba, meaning catastrophe, 700,000 Palestinians fled their homes." I have no particular reason to disbelieve it, or assume it should either be higher or lower. I just wonder where the number comes from, how it was calculated, how reliable it is, and how seriously the number's been questioned (obviously this number is very controversial).
Are Zulu chants from the film Zulu (1964) real Zulu chants? would Zulus chant during battle?
Saw in Dear White People that MLK recanted or regretted his "I have a dream" speech. Is this true? Couldn't find anything online about it.
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?
In his book Greek and Roman Slavery, Thomas Wiedemann quotes a number of texts on the manumission of slaves in Ancient Greece. One thing that strikes me is that in all those texts the slave is not technically set free by his master, but sold, given over to, or sanctified to a god. (Apollo seems a popular choice.) Did free citizens see themselves or humankind in general as in some way the slaves of gods, or is this just another way of reinforcing the differency between slaves and freeborn?
In 1978 members of The Peoples Temple at Jonestown committed one of the largest mass suicides in modern times by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid. How and where did the cult manage to get their hands on the (relatively) large quantity of cyanide needed to kill the roughly 900 members of the colony?
French revolution question:
Apparently, the thermidorians separated church and state on the 18th of september 1794. Why was the state still paying clerical salaries even after the dechristianisation campaigns of the terror?
I was looking for sources for an AskHistory answer. Stumbled on an old NYT article in which a historian, Peter Stearns states - period unspecified but the Shakespeare example implies early modern - that 20-40lb over the modern ideal was considered a sign of prosperity. But if that were the case, wouldn't a lot more paintings of royalty and aristocracy show people who were, to contemporary eyes, a bit overweight?
What's the earliest known historical record of the idea that a king / chief owns the whole land on which their tribe lives?
Hello, fellow historians, do you people know any good books to get me reading about soviet Russia? I'm particularly interested in the early 20's and the Russian Civil War. English language stuff would be preferred but I suppose, but I also speak Portuguese, and with some difficulty can read Spanish and German. Russian stuff will be hard but I won't turn away from it either.
In Dunkirk they show the newspaper guy a picture of George and they are able to print it on the newspaper, how would they "scan" the picture?
Two minor questions about Nazi Germany:
I heard this rumor once. During WWII, there was still auto racing, and the race cars developed by the major German automakers (e.g. BMW, Auto Union) often featured the Nazi swastika - and the rumor is that one of these cars had a magen David engraved on one of its internal components, as a minute act of rebellion.
The other thing I had heard, is that one of the major reasons why American tanks/planes/etc. often won out over Nazi German ones, is that the US often just expanded upon what already worked, while the Germans kept spending time/money on R&D for experimental stuff like the wunderwaffe.
It seems like New York City has far more clichéd sayings and mannerisms than other cities. From "Hey, fuggedaboutit!" to "Badda bing, badda boom", no other city - hell, maybe even no other state - has such a variety of stereotypical, instantly recognizable sayings. Why is this? Is it the work of Hollywood, or something else?
I've been reading "Anglo-Norman Warfare". Is there anything similar for contemporary France or the Holy Roman Empire in English, or would I have to learn French and/or German to read more on the topic?
I was looking through the Booklist section on Ancient Greece and after asking around in a bookstore or two for The Aegean Bronze Age, I found that Dickinson published a newer book, The Aegean from Bronze Age to Iron Age: Continuity and change between the twelfth and eighth centuries BC. Is it an update (reviews dated scholarship, introduces some new research, etc.) to the first one or does it focus on different things?
Hello!
Roughly how large in square miles was Baghdad in about 900 AD? When the population was nearing the high hundred-thousands?
What about ancient Athens circa 400 BC, when it supposedly had a population in the low-mid hundred-thousands?
How do historians deal with unreliable (memory, single primary source writer) sources?
I understand the no anecdotes rule is a sub rule and not entirely based on any historical method, but when dealing with memories or first hand written documents is it really just about being critical of who wrote it, or are there other methods, ideas, or ways to handle it?
Heard somewhere that soldiers during the first and second world meet the enemy at the battlefield. Perfect postion to shoot at each other instead they would either inslut eachother, throwing rocks or gravel or staying in a safe postion and observing the other group. After either talking with friends or a commander overhearing the conversation they realised that they should/could have shoot. Are there any basis of or someone talking out of their as?
From my understanding, during the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, Boris Yeltsin established his power with the famous speech given from a tank. Until that point, there was considerable tension over whether Yeltsin as President of the Russia Federation or Gorbachev as President of the Communist Party held more power.
Given the significance of the coup attempt and the massive changes that happened afterward, did any conspiracy theories develop about Yeltsin working with the “Gang of Eight” to stage the foiled coup and secure his power?
i am reading a document for the return of a runaway slave ad. the date states "july 12-84-tf", could I get more information on what this means? here is a picture. https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_Mk7F7w3dzEI%2FTRErQhi5v7I%2FAAAAAAAAA8A%2FrUszc6uX_sA%2Fs1600%2FTom.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Frandomthoughtsonhistory.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fsample-of-kentucky-runaway-slave.html&docid=SwctiD9ROztj5M&tbnid=Ww10hDFthNqbPM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiqzviY2JfbAhUQ8WMKHSVfCjEQMwg-KAEwAQ..i&w=400&h=320&bih=680&biw=1275&q=runaway%20slave%20ads%20tom&ved=0ahUKEwiqzviY2JfbAhUQ8WMKHSVfCjEQMwg-KAEwAQ&iact=mrc&uact=8
Why did farming develop in different places "almost simultaneously"? Southeast Asia was isolated from Europe, for example, but we don't see the development of farming in Southeast Asia lagging behind Europe too much. I guess what I'm trying to say is why did human beings living in isolated places stumble upon life changing practices at about the same time? Example: why didn't certain people living in a certain place stumble upon domestication of animals way before the rest of the world?
What was the first instance of Confucius being mentioned in the West?
Does anyone have any book recommendations for primary document collections on the Spanish Civil War?
What is the origin of the phrase "the banality of evil" in relation to the Holocaust?
How much of the western coast did the Nazis controlled after few months of Operation Overlord (lets say September 1944)?
There are some place what i can find good lectures about history?
If you had to recommend one or two books about arms and armour in the early and/or high middle ages (european or central european focused) to a non-historian - which would it be?
Bonus question: Any recommendation for the same in German?
I'm trying to branch out from cultural history into intellectual history/history of philosophy/history of social sciences/history of ideas. Would anyone have recommendations for the key journals in those fields and/or reading lists and/or key books or texts?
Another fashion-themed question.
For a long time I've had the theory that England, unlike other European countries, doesn't really have a national costume, or regional costumes, because the country industrialised first (along with which, it's small.) I've also just realised that another factor must be that England didn't have romantic nationalism as many Continental countries did in the 19th century. Yes there were poets of rural landscapes (e.g. Wordsworth), and interests in folk song collection (e.g. Vaughan Williams and others), but it wasn't the same, and there was a big focus on imperial expansion instead. (Arguably the suit and bowler hat take the place of an English national costume for men.)
Morris dancers and pearly kings and queens are very small groups, and are no comparison with the Scottish kilt, or the costumes that many people have as a type of formal dress in parts of Eastern and Northern Europe, and which anyone could choose to wear via affiliation with a region, country etc.
There's a current thread in r/AskEurope about folk costumes. An Italian user said that folk costumes were only used in certain regions, and they had long ago been discarded for urban areas as unsophisticated and peasanty (my paraphrase).
This seems to bear out my theory about the connection with industrialisation.
What have academics had to say about this? Are there other reasons?
I want to be study Medieval Western Europe, where i start? What can i do to make it right?
Are there any good animated maps showing the flow of Native American people and tribes throughout North America? I'm particularly interested in the flow of people into and out of the Southwest.
Recently, Marine Squads were changed from 13 men (3 fireteams of four men each + squad leader) to 12, a drone operator was added, and a comms specialist/also second in command was indicated. So now it's 3 fireteams of 3 with a command group with squad leader + 2nd + drone reconnaissance specialist. I learned this on r/warcollege.
In previous wars, what was a typical Marine Squad's layout? If it varied a lot I'll be more specific to say, both WWII (in a Pacific operation like Guadalcanal or Peleliu), and in the Tet Offensive in Vietnam?
Please see pictures in below album. Can anyone help identify the significance of this item?
This stamped brass star with shield was found with Confederate States, Republic of Texas, T- Miller and various union buttons at a Union POW site in the Gulf coast region of Texas.
As the size isn’t clear, it is about the size of a button.
Any help is appreciated.
How similar was an average teenager's life in say Ancient Rome during Augustus' rule to now? I'm specifically thinking of social stuff. Like crushes, friendships and so on.
I really like detailed books by D.Glantz what are some books that are like his but on other fronts of the 2mnd world wa
I’m seeking a single text that covers (the high points of) the whole of European history. Anyone know of a book that does this?
In 1913, how quickly would telegrams get from Sussex in England to a mining town in Nevada, and back? The exact timing (minutes, hours?) is important. Thank you--
Do you know any good books on the Reconstruction period in North Carolina? I was visiting relatives there a couple weeks ago, saw various monuments around the state capitol, and realized how little I know about that period of North Carolinian history.
What is the historian perspective on the Very Short Introduction series?
