The USA had a colonial empire (Philippines, arguably Hawaii etc) but was itself a state that broke off from a colonial empire, having previously been a set of British colonies.

Are there any other examples of "second order" colonial empires where a colony gained independence and founded its own overseas colonies?

I was rewatching the Rocky Horror Picture Show today with my wife and some friends, and I noticed that the liquid in Rocky's vat was rainbow coloured. Now, the movie is filled with queer themes and symbols (in the same scene, for instance, Frank N. Furter has a pink triangle on his lab gown), but, I thought the Pride Flag wasn't invented until 1978, while the movie had been filmed in 1974 and released in 1975 (no idea if there were rainbows in the 1973 stage musical), so that seems anachronistic to me.

Were rainbows already a queer symbol before the Pride Flag came about? If so, since when, and how did that come to be? Or is it mere coincidence?

Thanks!

I don't see a Recomended Reading thread so I'll post this here:

Is there a comprehensive book on the history of unions vs organized crime? Perhaps labour related violence in general? Strike breaking/rioting, all that stuff.

No specific region or time in mind but I guess South Korea or USA in 1970/80s or later would be great

I've tried this one before, so please let me know if it's considered spammy to keep asking:

The Aq Qoyunlu and Qara Qoyunlu were the White and Black Sheep Turkomans, respectively. Why were they called 'White Sheep' and 'Black Sheep'?

Wikipedia speculates Aq Qoyunlu were called 'white sheep' because of the predominant color of their flocks, but this raises 2 questions:

First, why would they be named for sheep of the most standard and least remarkable color? I'd understand if their flocks were mostly black as that's distinctive but white sheep?

Second - were the Black Sheep Turkomans named for the colors of their sheep, or for another reason (e.g. opposition to White Sheep Turkomans)?

Final question which might already be answered by the above - is there a relationship between the Aq and Qara Qoyunlu? They seem to have overlapped in time, but were they connected culturally or through some other means, or are they just two similarly-named but otherwise unrelated Turkoman tribes?

During the 4 years of its existence, did the Confederate States government and/or the various state governments pass any notable non war related domestic legislation?

Similar to the very important Homestead Acts the US passed during the war.

How many people that were alive in 1914 are still alive today?

Did the Soviets copyright their industrial and agricultural designs in other countries?

Say I'm a small time American manufacturer and I really like the Stalinets S-65 tractor design but want American quality workmanship and materials, could I manufacture my own copies for the market?

Does Russia hold the copyright now?

In the United States, are there any pre-Constitutional (or even pre-Articles of Confederation) laws that are still active or regularly applied? At the state or federal level?

I imagine with the mere passage of the Constitution they didn't just say "well, time to re-do every single law. Get to work, congress." I imagine there had to be some continuity among the transition; surely there's some Northeastern state with a "Anti-public nudity law of 1644" or something on the books. For example, anyway. I think it'd be kind of cool to have active laws older than the country itself. But I'm curious to know for sure if they exist. Thanks.

What is the TLDR of the Russian Constitutional Crisis of 1993?

I can't remember what book I read it in, but I heard that a southern politician won because he mentioned his rival's daughter was a "thespian", back in the 1800s.

The way the book talked about it, it'd seem like the type of thing you'd find easily on Google, but I can't find it anywhere

Is there any evidence of US Route 1 (particularly in the northern Virginia/DC area) being based off of pre-colonial indigenous routes?

I could have sworn I heard this once on a tour when I visited Alexandria, Virginia, but the only sources I can find are dubious at best (https://historicprincewilliam.org/county-history/stories/indians-and-the-collision-of-cultures.html and http://scottsurovell.blogspot.com/2012/12/history-of-us-1-potomac-path.html).

In archeological investigations I see that they usually dig down to reach historical levels of occupancy. It seems like dirt is always being added on top year after year. Where does all this dirt come from? Is it possible that on some sites the dirt would be swept away from a site?

How come there exists no hyperrealistic art from early history? Why has art only relatively recently exploded in quality? Wouldn't people from any age be able to figure out these techniques?

Hello, all. I hope this post is permitted, and if not, mods/admins may feel free to take it down without any hard feelings. I just seem to have hit a brick wall when doing some research on my late Grandfather's ranks/ratings. He was a Pharmacist's mate, 3rd class in WWII (in the Navy) and one of the abbreviations that was also placed on his headstone is "CHS." And for the life of me, I cannot find out what "CHS" stands for. The nearest I could find was possibly "Chief Ship's Clerk," but it's a dubious find, at best, and I was hoping I could pick your collective brain to see if any other WWII history buffs either know, or know someone who might know.

Whether you can help or not, I appreciate you reading my post, and I hope you have a great day!

What was the difference between the exchequer, the wardrobe and the household (steward) as related to financial administration in medieval Kingdom of England?

From the Wikipedia article on the League of Nations:

In 1939, a semi-official emblem for the League of Nations emerged: two five-pointed stars within a blue pentagon. They symbolised the Earth's five continents and "five races."

What were the five races?

im looking for books about the first contact and colonization of europe in the americas. specifically im interested in the interactions between the eruopeans and the natives. the general idea everyone has is europe showed up, spread disease and commited genocide but i wanna know the specifics of what actually happened.

The Imperial Japanese Army and Navies volatile reationship is well known, but are there any known cases of them firing upon each other with intention and in anger?

Did ancient Greeks and Romans ever discuss their mythologies with each other? Like Poseidon compared to Neptune?

I came across an online comment claiming Elliot & Downson Vol VI states Mughal king Jehangir sold 200,000 Indian slaves in Iran in 1619-20. Can somebody please help verify this & give more context? Thanks.

Why do modern people tend to think of Nazi Germany as the baseline fascist society when Hitler modeled German fascism off of the Italian Government?

I just saw a documentary about the ruins of Chaco Canyon. They said that the buildings were up to four stories high. Now it’s ruins with a few of the walls up to two or three stories high. It didn’t look like there was much rubble around the structures. Where are all the stones from the fallen walls?

What action (if any) did the Māori/Pasifika gangs of New Zealand take for/against the infamous 1981 Springbok Tour?

Is Nazi Germany's Hunger Plan classified as a separate genocide? I rarely see it on lists of genocides

How many people would have been employed at this car manufacturers in early-1940s Britain?

I don't know if this is possible, but was wondering if anyone with some expert knowledge of early car production might be able to give a rough estimate of how many workers would have been employed at the Hooper & Co,. Coachbuilders factory in Park Royal, Acton, London c.1939-1942? Archival records do not exist and I cannot find this information in the limited information about the company available online or in books, hence why I am wondering if someone with knowledge of car manufacturing in the early-20thC might be able to hazard a guess. The only info I have is that the factory was built in 1933 and that by 1938 they were producing 300 chassis per annum. By 1940 they had changed to making aeroplane fuselages for the war effort. Considering the new production techniques of the time etc., how big a workforce would have likely been employed? More or less than 1,000 people?

TIA!

How is it usually specified ceded territories in a post-war treaty?

• For instance the 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement had in its terms that the US would occupy Okinawa, Japan considered the Senkaku Islands part of the Okinawa Prefecture, but China said they weren't specified in the treaty. So, in a historian pov, how are territories specified then? Would Japan have to specify in the treaty what are the municipalities within the Okinawa prefecture?

Anyone know where I can find info on the Jewish exilarchs?

Why did the government feel the need to create an entire amendment to abolish alcohol? Why not just make a federal law?

Hi everyone, here's my question what were the rules/ethics that were created and followed before common era/before Christ? Thank you.

I recently visited the grand prismatic spring and noticed some horseshoe prints in the bacterial mats around it. Does anyone know if these are from the original surveyors or would they be more recent?

Did the Confederacy kill more Southern Civilians than the Union Army?

When planning D-Day how was it determined which nation would land on which beach?

If mail armor is effective against weapons such as swords, how do medieval (I want high Middle Ages answers) die?

Julius Caesar is killed in 44 BC. In 46 BC he extends the calendar year to fix issues with the Roman calendar. When historians date his life, do they say that 2 years transpired between then or is it really like 2.5 years?

In Richard III play he mentions Machiavel, how well would people of his time would know Machiavel considering he’s just 16?

I'm trying to identify this historical figure from japan, this is all I know about the subject:

The person I’m trying to identify is an assassin who attempted to kill another man (I think the reason was a personal one). However, when he is about to kill the person he offer him one final wish. His last wish was to discuss the state of Japan and its relationship with westerners. After that talk he regretted his action attempts to leave the room. But before he leaves the man offers him to become his disciple. He accepts and sometime in the future he now wields a gun (and possible a sword as well). The person I’m talking about have also done more things outside of what I talked about as well but I can’t remember.

How much free time did the average western European nobleman have during the medieval period?

Do any of Grigori Rasputin's prayers survive? For example, does the content of the prayer that was included in the amulets the Romanovs wore at their deaths survive?

Was the Aniene River particularly productive around the rise of Roman time? Does/did it compare favorably with the physical and agricultural resources of other Latin and Etruscan polities?

Just visited Athens and saw a bunch of antiquity winged figures. Sometimes, smaller by gods looking just like angels (like in the 12 Olympian gods rendition in the Acropolis Museum, one is even putting a crown on who I think is Hera). I was wondering what these are and do they have anything to do with later angels at all? Also, what is the meaning of being winged in ancient greek mythology/art?

People from Ancient times believed that they should learn history because they can apply lessons from it. Can we actually learn from history despite it being made up of complex events?

I’ve finished a few introductory medieval courses and textbooks. I’m looking to understand the medieval mind now.

I’ve started a short course (from the great courses) on Plato and Aristotle, and will also do courses on St Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.

What else should be on my reading list to understand how medievals thought about their world, their place in history, the nature of reality, …?

is there any book that covers the whole history of germany? (or most of it)

While visiting Greece I saw painting of Greeks fighting Turks. The greeks were wearing Fez and the Turks, turbans. Wasnt the Fez an Ottoman symbol? Why and when did the Greek start using Fez?