Why did San Domingo (now the Dominican Republic) vote against (and was the only one who voted against; France abstained) Greenwich meridian being the international standard for 0 longitude at the International Meridian Conference?

I was reading about the Portuguese discovery of Japan and I came across this passage by the Portuguese chronicler António Galvão:

In the year 1542, when Diego de Frietas was in the port of Dodra, in the kingdom of Siam, three Portuguese of his crew deserted, and went in a junk towards China. The names of these men were, Antonio de Mota, Francis Zeimoro, and Antonio Pexoto; who directed their course for the city of Liampa, in lat. 30 deg. N. or upwards. Having encountered a great storm, they were driven to a distance from land distance from land, and came in sight of an island far to the east, in lat. 32 deg. N. which they called Japan, and which seems to be the isle of Zipangri, mentioned by Marco Polo the Venetian, which in exceedingly rich in gold and silver, and other valuable commodities.

I have a pretty good idea of what everything else is, but I am stumped about where "Dodra, in the kingdom of Siam" actually is. All the sources I've come across about the Portuguese coming to Japan just say they came from Siam, sidestepping the identification of Dodra completely. So, does anybody know where this Dodra is?

Would a late 18th century British officer be permitted to return from overseas duty and see his family? If so, how long would his leave typically be?

When did wearing swords in a civilian context stop being fashionable and/or socially acceptable in Britain?

I'm looking for book recommendations on Roman, Achaemenid, and other ancient road systems.

In an old WWII Popeye cartoon, Popeye is shown punching a group of (racist charicature) Japanese soldiers, who then comment that Hirohito should get the hit too. The punch then travels to Hirohito who then gets hit and he in turn comments that Hitler should get punched too.

So the punch then travels to Germany and Hitler is punched...but the actual hit it censored.

Would there be any reason why Hitler being punched out would have been censored at the time of this cartoon? Popeye cartoons never shyed away from showing anyone get hit, so this particular instance feels out of place. The fact that it's Hitler of all people getting punched out makes me curious if there was some aversion at the time towards showing Hitler being attacked.

Why do American homes built in the early twentieth century sometimes have two front doors?

For example, I have lived in two houses that had a traditional front door with another front-facing entry door which accesses a bedroom. I've also seen two front doors side by side (not a duplex).

About 15% of persecuted victims during witchhunt were men, which still made women the majority. What percentage of women to men were prosecuted during events resembling "ideological" witchhunts (McCarthyism, Stalinist Purges, non-jewish victims of holocaust such as communists and gays)?

How 'reliable' are radical publishers like Verso or Pluto? I am quite left leaning and like reading those perspectives on new issues that I haven't got much experience in, ie. environmentalism or feminism. These books are mostly written by academics, however its not always clear where these interpretations fit within the broader historiography or discussions, which most university press books will do. Will reading from these publishers necessarily impede my knowledge of topics going forward, or is it just a matter of recognising how their analysis fits closer within marxian traditions more than other texts from university publishers?

how did the constitution of 1787 reflect the socio economic background and philosophical beliefs of the founding fathers?

When did jive die out as a language among Blacks in the USA? (That's assuming it was very popular, wikipedia says it reached its peak in the 1940s, but there are no raw numbers)

I was wondering if I could get book recommendations on a couple subjects. It's just stuff I'm interested in, not anything academic.

1. Books about the native people of Cuba and the history of Cuba. Might be anthropology but I'm not sure.

2. Any books to get someone into reading about history. I'm not great at memorization, so I really struggled with history until I got to AP courses and we talked in more general terms and analyzed trends. I've started really liking history through a variety of podcasts, but I'd love to be a bit more serious about it.

Thanks so much for any suggestions!

Back before banks, did pretty much everyone have a hidden stash somewhere where they would keep valuables? Was it basically a given that if you looked through a home thoroughly enough you’d find something good?

Where did the term "red scare" originate? I can trace it back to newspaper articles in 1934, but it seems to be older than that. Anyone know who originated the term?

Is there an interactive map that shows all major civs on the map and their territories that you can drag a timeline?

Was there a Nahuatl word for mosaic before the Conquest?

I'm working on a map centered around former Yugoslavia and I've noticed that in many older maps, Bosnia has not only one, but two outlets to the sea. One in Neum and the other giving it access to the bay of Kotor. Where did this outlet come from and when did Bosnia lose it?

What where some prehistoric/primitive ways to treat broken bones? Can I get like a date of when it was used?

Was there any push back in France to the reunification of Germany after the Cold war?

Re-asked from last week:

Three largely unrelated questions from me:

1. In early photos of productions of The Pirates of Penzance, and indeed modern amateur renditions more generally, the Pirate King wears pretty 'conventional' pirate garb. Yet the versions with Kevin Kline and Tim Curry have the Pirate King in a baggy white shirt, coloured trousers and a bandana. Why did these productions depart so heavily from the conventional look?
2. Certain Napoleonic armies had several varieties of very similar cavalry – the French, for example, had both Chasseurs a Cheval and Hussars, the British had Light Dragoons and Hussars, the Austrians Hussars and Cheveaulegers. Why weren't all light cavalry in these armies one or the other, given that they appear to have had the same role? Was it just aesthetics?
3. During the Industrial Revolution and before the railroad (or even after), did canals in Britain suffer from traffic jams, and if so what was done to clear them?

What structure was on Temple Mount at the time of Mohammed (~600 AD)?

Previously weeks link doesnt work

How many Japanese Americans left the U.S. permanently after being released from internment?

What is the difference between manorialism and serfdom?

Where do you find the text of executive orders? I'm trying to find EO 845 and I can't find it anywhere.

There's an idea out there that urban civilization spontaneously and independently arose in six places (Peru, Mexico, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, and China) around 4-5 thousand years ago. Is this idea still considered accurate, or is it based on deprecated ideas of what it means for something to be a city and a civilization?

Did the Seleucid Empire actually control more territory than the Macedonian Empire?

How did Lucheni know the real identity of Sisi? I read that she used a pseudonym and only her lady-in-waiting knew her real identity. Somehow Lucheni knew who she was, but I can't find any information on how he knew that?

How effective were bolas as anti-cavalry weapons?

What colours were the Dutch Belgian uniforms at the battle of Waterloo

How often were knights and royalty buried with their Swords and or valuables?

Any book recommendations on everyday life in South Africa during apartheid?

Any recommended reading on the Irish revolution/civil war era?

why tf was the most recent podcast cut short? http://askhistorians.libsyn.com/askhistorians-aloud-conscriprion-and-its-discontents-in-ancient-greece just says "thanks for listening" while the narrator is still narrating

Is there a reliable history of Hermes Trismegistus? I realise "he" is a mythical figure but I cannot identify a decent history of the genesis and influence of HT and the corpus hermeticum which isn't full of credulous woo.

I have a question that I am not too sure that it's worth a post of its own. In the past few days there have been many posts in /r/europe showing everyday objects stamped with swastikas, anything from spoon to plates and cups.

Can you link me to a post (or give a simple explanation) on why the Nazis were so obsessed with stamping absolutely everything, if it was a specific person's decision to do so and even if there was any disagreement about whether stamping insignificant tools would be considered respectful to what they believed?

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse is a widely used cautionary example in many Physics and Engineering classes, probably in large part due to the dramatic nature of the film of the event. Is it a huge coincidence that someone in the 1940s happened to be present with a camera to film it, or did someone predict the collapse and thus try to capture it on video? How common were video cameras at the time?

Which historical figure best represents a counter-revolutionary in almost all respects?

Did the Imperial Japanese Navy ever assign ship designation codes to its ships in a similar way that the US Navy did this? (i.e. USS Iowa being BB-61)

If so, is there a comprehensive list available anywhere online (preferably circa WW2)?

If not, was there any form of short form used whatsoever, or were ships only referred to by their full names?