texts:
In World War II, a prototype missile guidance system was developed in Project Pigeon, whereby a pigeon's pecks (or pecks by multiple pigeons) would be used to guide a missile.

  Test runs were successful; the pigeons pecked reliably, holding the missiles on course even when falling at a rapid pace, undaunted by the terrifying noise of war.
  Pigeon-guided missiles, Military History Matters

I'm interested in finding out...

Question: How "successful" were WWII pigeon-guided missiles?

It seems that any confidentiality would have since lapsed, so perhaps there is documentation available.

In particular, I'd be interested in seeing e.g. experimental notes, a lab report, a scientific paper, or some other form of write-up of the experiments: what was tested, how it was tested, and numbers which measure how successful it was.  However, I don't know what's available, nor how I would access it.  These experiments were conducted by a famous US psychologist B. F. Skinner, so it seems reasonable to expect these experiments were documented.


texts: What was the likely death toll of the Tudor invasion of ireland?

texts:
Ben Kiernan uses the Tudor Conquest of Ireland as an example of an early modern genocidal campaign in his book Blood and Soil. While he quotes extensive contemporary description of depopulated landscapes and massacres of non combatants (by the perpetrators), what is missing is a single estimate how many people actually died due to direct violence of famine in Ireland in total.

It is clear that such an estimate is hard to do: There my be no reliable census data from before, not every massacre will be reported, on the other hand individual commanders that did write about their massacre may have overstated the number of men, women and children killed because killing everyone was expected of them etc.

What is the best estimate for the death toll that can be given today?


texts: How did an honor society get named as if it were a Chinese gang?

texts:
Honor societies and fraternities are a fixture in U.S. colleges. Most often they use Greek letters for their names, and some have names in English. However, the men's honor society of Santa Cruz High School (Santa Cruz, California) is called "Hi Tow Tong".

A tong is the local form of a triad gang. Tongs were famous and the Tong Wars lasted decades in nearby San Francisco. They were ongoing when the organization was apparently founded.

According to a blog post containing much later text from the school student newspaper,

  Hi Tow Tong Men’s Honor Society was organized in 1910. The first initiation ceremonies were adopted embracing the sentiments of Confucius, Jesus and other world leaders to emphasize the thought that leadership ability carries with it the responsibility to serve.

The earliest primary source mentioning it that I have found is in Santa Cruz Evening News, May 21, 1910. According to the Evening News, February 9, 1915 the "Chink fraternity" was in full swing. Its members were all white.

How did an honor society get a name for a Chinese gang? Does "Hi Tow" (which  looks something like a Wade-Giles spelling of Cantonese) actually mean anything?


texts: Why were there more Muslims in East Bengal than in West Bengal

texts: When India and Pakistan were partitioned, Muslims were in a majority in east Bengal whereas Hindus were in a majority in west Bengal. What is the historical reason behind this demographic statistic?


texts: Help identifying image of winged robed figure and young man

texts: Our brand-new office building has this brass medallion in the floor in the lobby.  Is this a copy of some image from antiquity?  Or just something they made up?


texts: Why and how did climate change affect the Mayan civilization?

texts: Why and how did climate change affect the Maya empire? I thought climate change was a modern problem so I'm confused when my World History textbook says that its one of the reasons for the decline of the Mayan civilization.


texts: Korean Traditional Clothes for each Dynasty

texts:
I searched everywhere but couldn't find a site that provide detailed clothes worn by the people of Korea in ancient time. I would like to search the changes in fashion and costume over time. Here are some examples that may be useful, but I'm really looking for a more detailed timeline:

Traditional Court Clothing
Clothes: period clothing
The three kingdoms of Korea (video)


texts: How did Edward Misselden become a deputy-governor of a merchant company at 15?

texts: According to the wikipedia article Edward Misselden, he was born in 1608 and in 1623 became a deputy-governor of the Merchant Adventurers' Company at Delft. This means he got the job at the age of 15. Is it true? How did it happen? Was it normal at the time?


texts: Did Japan ever attack Vladivostok in WW2? Why or why not?

texts:
That's a screenshot from Battlefield Season 4 Episode 3. I added the location of Vladivostok.

In all my readings, I have never found a Japanese attack on Vladivostok during or right before WW2. You can see the city is very exposed and very near both Japan and Manchukuo, so I wonder why.

The skirmishes that culminated in the Battle of Khalkin Gol took place in 1938 and 1939. Why didn't Vladivostok come under attack from the Japanese Navy? Surely they didn't think much of the Soviet Navy since Tsumisha Strait.

The Soviet Invasion of Manchuria took place in 1945 Aug 9 to 25. Why didn't Vladivostok come under some form of attack at least from the air? Did the Soviets heavily fortify this city with AA guns or something along those lines?


texts: Why didn't the Japanese disbelieve (1) an unencrypted emergency and (2) a report in a captured code?

texts:
The Wikipedia page on Joseph Rochefort states:

One of the Station HYPO staff, Jasper Holmes, had the idea of faking a  failure of the water supply on Midway Island. He suggested using an unencrypted emergency warning in the hope of provoking a Japanese response, thus establishing whether Midway was a target. Rochefort took the idea to Layton, who put it to Nimitz. Nimitz approved, and the garrison commander was told by submarine cable to immediately radio in [1.] "plain-language" an emergency request for water as an explosion in the water desalination system meant that they had only enough water for two weeks. [2.] An apparently "follow-up" report was to be made in one of the strip-cipher code systems that the Japanese were known to have captured on Wake. As the plan was to convince Washington, Rochefort tactfully let Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne (FRUMEL) notify the main objects of the deception (Washington) of the Japanese message by reporting a message from the AF Air Unit saying that they had only enough water for two weeks: "This will confirm identity of AF". Rochefort then sent a reminder on Friday. [15]
The Japanese took the bait. Within hours they broadcast instructions to load additional water desalination equipment, confirming Rochefort's analysis.[16][page needed] Layton notes the instructions also "produced an unexpected bonus". They revealed the assault was to come before mid-June.

I don't understand how the Japanese believed the US so foolishly?

Why would they reckon that the US would broadcast a true emergency request on water unecrypted? It doesn't make sense for them to broadcast a weakness unencrypted. In a true emergency, wouldn't the US summon for help encryptedly, even to non-US allies like Australia and New Zealand?

Why'd they fall for the "follow-up"? The US knew that the Japanese captured this "strip-cipher code systems" on Wake. Thus why would the Japanese reckon that the US would use it unquestionably in good faith?


texts: I see on youtube that fire breathing was allowed or  tolerated in Paris Métro in 1982. However, I have never seen any fire breather between 2000 and now. When was fire breathing banned from Paris Métro?


texts: Are there any antisemitic caricatures from France during the interwar period?

texts:
I am looking for antisemitic caricatures in France between the two World Wars.
I can find examples both from before and after, e.g. ones related to the Dreyfus case, but none during this period.

Are there no known example of historically significant antisemitic caricatures in France during this period?


texts: How much of a symbiotic relationship was there between the Renaissance and the Printing Press?

texts:
Both the Renaissance and the Printing Press are dated to be around the 14th century. While the first Printing Press was in 1436 (Johannes Gutenberg), the Renaissance is also supposed to start around a similar time-frame. I suspect that both influenced the right of the other.

Is it true, that the Renaissance was influenced as scientific ideas were more easily propagated than they had been in the past? It would be interesting to know one way or the other!


texts: What government functions, if any, did the archchancellor of the HRE actually exercise?

texts:
Although the Holy Roman Empire was famous for being a loose confederation of largely independent feudal lords, it nevertheless possessed institutions akin to a unified state even near the end of its life.

Each ecclesiastical Prince-Elector was also chancellor of one of the Empire's kingdoms (Germany, Italy and Arles). Additionally, the Archbishop of Mainz was ex-officio Archchancellor of the Empire, the second highest post of the Holy Roman Empire under the Emperor.

Wikipedia mentions that the Archchancellor exercised government functions such as calling an imperial election, and notes that his 'political role' is considerable without elaborating. My question is, what other functions besides calling an election, if any, did the Archchancellor serve?

What de jure powers/duties did the Archchancellor have in theory? And What powers or roles did the Archbishop of Mainz play in reality?

Edit:

I've now gathered that the Archancellor serves a few more functions in Imperial governance:

appointing the Vice-Chancellor, who presides in the Reichshofrat (The Aulic Council)
chairing the plenary sessions of the Reichstag
formulating the Reichstag's legislative agenda
receiving the Reichstag's delegates
drafting the proposals submitted to the Reichstag
accrediting foreign ambassadors to the Holy Roman Empire

These would seem to be most of the formal functions that the Archancellor wielded, although I'm sure the office had more powers formal or informal that I haven't discovered. Moreover its unclear how these powers were exercised in, and affected, the HRE at large, especially in the later centuries.

I assume there would be more sources available in German, but unfortunately I can't understand them.


texts: Has Any Real-World Culture Actually Included a "Life Debt" Tradition?

texts:
A common trope in fiction is the "life debt," wherein two characters become "bound together by a bond of oath" because one has saved the other's life.

We consumers of media have seen this concept of a "life debt" haphazardly bandied about... from Gilligan's Island to Star Wars.

Often the two characters are strangers when the life-saving incident occurs
Often one of the characters comes from a primitive culture wherein the tradition of a "life debt" is an unavoidable consequence
either the person who gets saved feels indebted to the savior, and thereafter swears allegiance or the person who is the savior prevents the saved person from "meeting his fate" and thereafter must take responsibility for changing fate by watching over the person who was saved
the story may later include a role-reversal scenario that absolves the subservient person from further responsibility

Wikipedia defines the "life debt" as a purely "literary phenomenon" - but can you think of any real-world cultures that are documented as having this tradition?

If so, what are the determining cultural factors that govern which person becomes indebted, subservient or responsible?


texts: Who was the most successful German spy against Great Britain in WWII, from the contemporary German perspective?

texts:
Reading up on this it appears to me many of Germany's spy operations inside the UK were pretty quickly shutdown.  I investigated a half dozen spies who were captured by the end of 1942.

Dorthy O'Grady arrested December 1940
George Johnson Armstrong executed July 1941
Norah Briscoe arrested  March 1941
Theodore_Schurch captured June 1942, executed Jan 1946
Jose Estelle Key executed July 1942
Duncan Scott-Ford executed Nov 1942
Mathilde Carré - Arrested by MI5 in 1942.

Other's I was considering who were not arrested during the war...

  Horst Kopkow - An SS Officer, responsible for counter-sabotage and counterespionage.  During the war, Kopkow's agents captured several hundred Soviet and British agents. Kopkow was informed and consulted over every capture, although he never left his headquarters in Berlin. One of his major efforts was the destruction of Red Orchestra and Rote Drei espionage networks. Security police also captured agents of MI6 and SOE. Kopkow authorized several hundred orders to execute the agents. This continued to the end of the war in 1945. His superiors rewarded him with medals.
  Harold Cole - A Brit, who worked with the French Resistance.  Turned over about 30 pages of notes on the F.R. to German Military Intelligence.  "Described as the worst traitor of the war".  Was active throughout the war.
  Elyesa Bazna(Cicero) -  Employed as a valet to the British ambassador to neutral Turkey from 1939. Passed on important information about many of the Allied leaders' conferences, including the Moscow, Tehran and Cairo Conferences. The details for the Tehran Conference were important for Operation Long Jump, the unsuccessful plot to kill Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill. He had also conveyed a document that carried the highest security restriction (BIGOT list) about Operation Overlord (the code name for the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944). Stopped selling information to the Germans by the end of February 1944 and left the embassy within a month or so. After the war, Bazna was questioned for war crimes, but he was never charged with espionage.

Other than Elyesa Bazna who stopped selling information early 1944, these candidates seem to be pretty low level.  More tactical than strategically damaging.  They all did damage, but I was wondering.  Who was the Greatest German Spy of WWII?  To make this more specific I'll limit it to contemporary WWII German perspective.  Is their a consensus among historians?

Per Denis de Bernardy suggestion, looking for someone who reported intelligence which reached Nazi Germany and not simple a high ranking official in the Nazi intelligence.  Most successful German spy means successful in collecting information valued by German Intelligence, not valued just due to his rank and leadership.


texts: When passports/border checks became widespread?

texts:
I was reading the Wikipedia on passports, and there were numerous important dates in passport history, but I didn't find any date when passports became widely used documents for travelling.

I see passports from late 19th century, and general passports were regulated by League of Nations in 1920s. Based on this my guess is that in 1920 the passports were used by almost all countries of the world.

My question is: (approximately) when passports and border checks became widespread and commonly used procedures?

UPDATE: adding more precision: when became passports (or its predecessor) as a travel document standard way to check travellers around the world?


texts: In current times is it impossible to win a war if the people of invaded country are determined not to lose?

texts:
When the United States lost the Vietnam war, the Vietnamese showed another face of war:

With a big difference of power, the weaker country can win.

This is happening again in Afghanistan and in Iraq. In Afghanistan the United States, one of the richest countries in the world, fights with one of the poorest and even with this difference it isn't able to win the war.

So, what I'm asking is: can an invading country win the war if and only if the people of this invaded country are not willing to fight hard enough?


texts: Which countries have used rail bikes in their armed forces?

texts:
Some 15 years ago, I read an article on "rail biking" and as part of the article it showed pictures of soldiers riding the rails on rail bikes! I believe the photos were from between 1850 and 1950.

This website show what rail biking is all about.

Four people rail biking!

A rail bike ready to go!

Can anyone point out a source of information of a particular country employing such bicycles in their armed forces?


texts: Who was the noble present at the Tennis Court Oath?

texts:
I remember learning that a member of the 2nd Estate was notably present at the Tennis Court Oath (though I realize there might have been more than one).

Does anyone know who that might have been?

Also, on a side note, is it true that the location was actually a handball court?


texts: Why did the British Empire try to criminalize cannabis in India three times when they had good experience with its taxation?

texts:
The British Empire passed a taxation act on cannabis in India in 1798, apparently for the well-being of the natives. What the most likely motivation behind the taxation act is, I don't know.
In 1838, 1871 and 1877, they tried criminalizing it (and failed). Why did they do this? If one takes their stated motivation to be true, then I guess the logical explanation would be to further decrease the purported harm of the drug on the population. This would make sense considering how they initiated a huge study on the effects of cannabis on the Indian society in 1893 (The Indian Hemp Drugs Report).
But if the taxation act was based on capitalistic motives, then I don't see why they'd try to criminalize it. It is my understanding that the British had positive experiences with their capitalization of cannabis in India.

These decades witnessed a colonial takeover; the Egyptian elite was thus facing colonial oﬃcials who doubted the usefulness of the ban, in light of their Indian experience of monopolized cultivation and distribution.

Cannabis Prohibition in Egypt, 1880–1939: From Local Ban to League of Nations Diplomacy, 2011, Liat Kozma, page 444.
This to me implies that the British saw taxed and controlled regulation of cannabis as a good thing. However, this is written within the context of the late 1870s, which might be after the Brits' last attempt at criminalizing cannabis in India. In addition, the Egyptians faced a lot of issues trying to stop cannabis consumption and reducing demand, which may mean that the British weren't necessarily against cannabis criminalization; they might've just thought that in the case of Egypt (and India, eventually), that controlled legalization was the best call.
I've been looking for the details of the attempted criminalizations of 1838, 1871 and 1877 in India, but I haven't found anything.


texts: How is the oldest bank in Mongolia only 24 years old?

texts:
According to Wikipedia, the Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_and_Development_Bank_of_Mongolia) is the oldest bank in Mongolia. This is further supported by a 2013 article on Mongolian bond yields. Yet it was founded less than a quarter century ago. However, Mongolia itself is over 100 years old.

What happened to all the Mongolian banks? I understand this is around the time of the Soviet collapse, but I find it hard to believe that every single bank in the nation crumbled. Herman, what happened?!


texts: Did 12th century French nobles really sleep in the great hall of the castle?

texts: I've been on so many sites and each one seems to tell a different story. Some say that nobles had their own bedrooms (evidenced by the fact that castles had bedrooms) but I have also seen people say that lords kept their beds in the Great Hall which they shared with the servants. That seems strange to me because a) where do you keep the bed during the day while using the hall for other activities and b) I cannot imagine them being fine with sharing their sleeping quarters with servants. Same thing with guests. No one seems to be able to tell me where the guests slept when they slept over. Could someone please help me clear this out?


texts: How did the Nazis plan to defeat America during World War II?

texts:
Yamamoto famously advised against a war with the United States, because he could tell how powerful they would be once they got going.  The Nazis, however, declared war on the United States of their own will, as I understand it, fulfilling their treaty obligations to Japan but without any immediate cause to fight the US themselves.

What was the plan, there?  Hitler had already picked fights with several 800-pound gorillas in Europe, but at least all of them he could actually hit.  He had taken Paris, he was bombing London, his tanks were already rolling across Soviet soil, etc.  But even by the end of the war, the Nazis weren't able to make any substantive attacks against the United States itself.  At the beginning, they must not have had any hope of even dropping a payload of bombs on New York, let alone destroying America's factories in Chicago or Colorado or Texas.

Was their plan literally just to declare war, and then hope the United States got bored or tired and threw in the towel?  Even if everything else had gone right, if Hitler had invaded Britain and conquered the Soviet Union quickly, he still would be facing a huge enemy from half a world away that he could barely even hit, WHILE holding down all his conquered territories at the same time.

Did the Nazi war machine have a plan for such a scenario?  Were there sketches or concepts of an invasion of the United States, maybe up through Mexico or down through Canada after Britain was subdued?  Did they hope to make V2's that could cross the Atlantic, or build carriers that could threaten the Eastern Seaboard?  Were there discussions of peace treaties once Britain fell, or once the Americans were kicked out of Africa?

Did Hitler have any plan at all for dealing with the United States beyond hoping the Americans got tired of fighting?  And if not, why did even the ultra-impetuous Hitler consider it worthwhile to pick a fight with an enemy he couldn't even reach?


texts: I have always been impressed by the elegance, symmetry (and relative modesty) of the tetrarchy founded by Roman emperor Diocletian (245 - 316). Is it something that was invented at the time or does the system draw directly on earlier precedent?


texts:
Zoroastrianism and Hinduism have close resemblances. For example Both the religions worship fire god, Both have religious languages are sound alike. Both Teachings agree that Ahura/Asura and Daeva/Deva both were Celestial Beings and later one of the group would then be casted out- Similar with God & Satan in Christianity isn't it?

For Hinduism, Deva remained Gods & Asura were the casted out group because of their greediness and wildness. On the Other Hand, Zoroastrianism Ahura was the God and the Daevas were casted out because bringing evil thoughts in Humans, Both respects the sacred plant juice [ Haoma (Zoroastrianism) & Soma (Hinduism)] and both Religions says it was drunk by the Celestial beings in both the religions.

The prayers in both the religions involve burning incense, chanting Mantra. The Parsi's also use coconuts and. grains of rice during their Navjyot and wedding ceremonies just like the Hindus. Even the concept of time where evil takes control over time in 4 cycle also seems to be similar to Hinduism.

Almost anything I read about Zoroastrianism is awfully similar to Hinduism. I know both of them are Aryan descendant, but can it also be that one religion is formed from another(like Buddhism from Hinduism) ?

Apart from the similarities are they any differences between the two that distinguish each other ? make them not to be related to each other ?


texts: What led to the first fight in the American Civil War?

texts: After Lincoln was elected president, 11 states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America.  What circumstances surrounding this secession led to the first battle of the war, and where did the first battle take place?


texts: Where did Bishop Heber meet Bhagwan Swaminarayan?

texts: When Bishop Heber came to know about Bhagwan Swaminarayan, he wanted to have a meeting to discuss various matters. Where did this meeting take place?


texts: What did the Romans call black people (sub-Saharan)? In classic Latin as well as vulgar latin and slang.


texts: Did the Soviets cooperate with the Americans in catching criminals in post-war Vienna?

texts:
I'm writing a novel that is set in Vienna during the
period when it was occupied by, among others, the
Americans and the Soviets (1945-1955). The central
district (grey in the image below) belonged to all the
occupational powers.

In my novel there is a character (a native Austrian)
who seriously injures (on purpose) an American
soldier or officer.
 After the crime he needs to hide somewhere. He
 considers running to the Soviet zone in the hope
 that it will make it more difficult for the
 Americans to find him there. This leads to the
 first question.

Question #1: Did the Soviets cooperate with
Americans when investigating serious crimes?

Let's say he runs to the Soviet zone. The Americans
somehow find this out and ask the Soviets to help
them find this criminal (or at least not interfere).
 How likely are the Soviets to agree (provided that
 the character committed a serious crime against the Americans and the
 Soviets are not interested in him at all)?

Question #2: Whose police forces would perform a
large operation, if the need arose?

Now assume the Soviets help the Americans find the
protagonist actively or passively. It turns out the
protagonist has barricaded himself.

The only way to catch him is to storm that place.

Whose troops (Soviet, American) are more likely to
do this special operation given that

it happens in the Soviet-occupied part of the city,
the criminal is an Austrian,
whom the Americans want and the Russians don't

?

Note: Since I'm writing fiction, I do not need 100 %
 historical accuracy. I only need believability.


texts: Why did Greeks and Romans dilute their wine?

texts:
I’ve gathered that ancient Greeks and Romans watered their wine heavily, up to 90% water. Roman-era Talmudic sources speak of wine not being fit to drink until it had been watered (although mixtures weaker than 1:6 wine-water ratios were not deemed suitable for ritual purposes).

Why was this done? Was it to avoid getting drunk, or was this the preferred flavor? Was the wine spiced (ahem) with intoxicants other than alcohol?

Was wine stronger then—but how do you get strengths greater than 14% without distillation? (IIRC, the Romans did have a form of distillation through freezing: was this so prevalent?)

Or was this a way of making the water safe to drink—but is 2% alcohol content enough to make a difference?


texts:
There has been speculation that a coup attempt that occurred recently was staged or a "false flag" operation undertaken by the ruling party in order to allow the dominant ruler greater power.

My question is: has a "false flag" or staged coup ever occurred in history in order to justify greater power of a ruler, or a crackdown on opposition? Please provide a list of examples.

EDIT: The closest example I have found of an attempted but failed false coup (since the coup got out of hand and actually occurred) was plotted by Ngô Đình Nhu, to occur in 1963 South Vietnam, and named Operation Bravo


texts: What is the relationship between land claims and ranks of nobility?

texts:
I'm of the understanding that nobility tittles in ancient Europe(and maybe nobility in general) entail land claims. However, does the significance of their tittle affect the size of land given to them?

If so, how much land would be typically given to an Archduke, Duke, Marquess, Count, Viscount, Baron, Baronet, Knight, and Esquire?

If not, then how is land divided?


texts: What political events led to the Separate Car Act that was upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson?

texts:
One often reads that in 1896 in the case of Plessy versus Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court let stand a Louisiana law, the Separate Car Act, that required white and non-white passengers to ride in separate cars on trains.  But what is the story of the political events leading to the passage of that law in 1892 (if 1892 is right)?

Some wild guesses:

Passenger trains were starting to become big business but earlier they'd played a more minor role in the transportation industry in Louisiana, and so escaped the attention of the legislature.  When large numbers of people started using them, some regulation started happening.  As I said, a wild guess; I have no idea whether this is true.
Could it have been a reaction by segregationists against some partial desegregation by some railroads? I can imagine some economic incentives to partial desegregation.  Say the tickets on the white car are sold out and some passengers who want to get where they're going don't mind riding in "colored" car if that will accomplish their purpose.  Again, a wild guess.


texts: How much of Marco Polo's accounts were actually the first Western record?

texts:
While there's already an answered question here about Marco Polo and fireworks, he is often credited with being the first Western record of many other innovations. One website, for example, credits him with "porcelain, coal, gunpowder, printing, paper money, and silk." I have not had the opportunity to fully go through Marco Polo's accounts, but some preliminary searching has left me feeling confused. To use coal as an example, there are accounts of coal being used in Europe before Marco Polo came back from his journey - although it only became widely used many centuries later, it was still present.

In short, how many of Marco Polo's accounts are actually apocryphal?


texts: At what point, and why, did snuff tobacco fall out of favor with European nobility?

texts: Tobacco snuff was in use by the European nobility from the 16th Century onwards, becoming both medicine and status symbol, even with the health hazards associated.   At some point it fell out of favor, whether for smoking or something else, but was this just a fad that had seen it's time or was there something else associated with it's loss of status among the nobility?  If there is a good source on this let me know, I'd be interested to read something substantive on the subject, or on the changing social customs.


texts: Why were Soviet attitudes towards Israel inconsistent in the late 40's and 50's?

texts:
What are the different theories explaining the inconsistent attitude Soviet Russia had towards the nascent State of Israel between the years 1947 and 1953?

Communist Russia's hate of Zionism is well documented but so is its support for a Jewish state in 1947. It also seems that Russia changed its outlook once again by supporting Israel's Arab enemies in ensuing wars. What are the possible factors explaining this seemingly inconsistent view on the Jewish state?

Since Russian foreign policy at the time was undoubtedly dictated by Stalin this question inevitably involves an insight into his mindset and rationality.


texts: Did the British Queen raise young women of humble lineage to serve her?

texts:
The House of the Portuguese Queens in the 13th and 14th century could be described more or less as the following:

high social class
- donas or ladies-in-waiting (widows or women married to important officials in the King's Household; possessed the highest offices, such as chamberlain)
- damsels or maidens-in-waiting (young, single women of high lineage)

average social class
- criadas da rainha (maidens of humble lineage; they were raised under the queen's rule, would often be given in marriage by her and, in the meantime, acted as servants)

low social class
- nurses (women of humble lineage, though wet nurses could be of a not so humble lineage)
- covilheiras ('grooming maids' or women of the bedchamber; widows or married women of humble and poor lineage)

very low social class
- chamber maids and servants (free women, not nobility, christian)
- servants and slaves (typically of moorish origin, could become free and continue as free women, though still servants; not christian)

Question: Was there in the British Isles the tradition of the Queen raising young noble women of humble lineage who'd spend their lives serving the Queen (before and, in some cases, after being married by the Queen)? If so, did these women have a specific designation?

I'm not looking for a fancy designation, as the Portuguese one itself is anything but. The Portuguese word 'criada', which today means housemaid and is considered outdated, was at this time taken at face value, meaning 'person raised by one's lady/lord'. It's also a fact that the queen became in fact the young woman's legal guardian until she got married, being thoroughly in charge of her education.

Do note that the term 'criada', as well as the notion of referring to a person raised by his lord/lady, with the associated duties of guardianship, lost its original significance shortly after the 14th century. I believe that, if there was a similar situation in the British Isles, it probably didn't survive past the 15th century either.

Edit and clarification:

By "humble lineage" I mean a noble family with low social standing, be it because the family has few properties and little power, is recent and hasn't yet gained prestige, or is ancient but has lost prestige and power.

Bibliography:

Ana Maria S. A. Rodrigues, “A mesa, o leito, a arca, a mula. Como se provia ao sustento e itinerância das rainhas de Portugal na Idade Média.” in A Mesa dos Reis de Portugal. pp. 52-60
Rita Costa Gomes, A Corte dos Reis de Portugal no Final da Idade Média.


texts: What are some examples of US states warring with one another?

texts:
My question is, has there been any states that have warred with each other in the United States?

Obviously the one war that comes to mind is the Civil War, not what I am looking for. My question is more directed to one state has a grievance with one other state and they collected militia to go to battle. Being from Ohio I also know of the "Toledo War" which was a political battle over the mouth of the Maumee River. In this tale, two, soon to be states, took up arms to contest a small swatch of land at the border of Michigan and Ohio. Ohio won of course (GO BUCKS!) It got me wondering, had this happened anywhere else in the US? Where state fought state or state fought territory? I am looking for something disputes that don't have to do with the Civil war pre or post. So anything that has to do with slavery or north/south aggression (Noting that the Civil War wasn't about Slavery to begin with).

I did some looking and didn't find any internal conflicts (other than above) only ones that involved other countries fighting for land in the US. If anyone has other examples please let me know.


texts: How accurate is Stone's "The Trial of Socrates"?

texts:
I have stumbled upon I.F Stone's book "The Trial of Socrates" at a huge discount, and as someone who developed an interest in history and philosophy I took it. When I came home and read some reviews it appeared to me from the reviews of the book that he is not being completely honest to the ancient Greek sources, and he kind of distorting facts to prove his point, which is that the Athenians were more on the right side of this issue than is generally believed in our culture.
For those of you who are educated on this topic, how accurate is his book? When I bought the book, I genuinely believed it wasn't a controversial book, and if it is not accurate, can you recommend a good source on Socrates's trial and Greek history in general?


texts: My understanding is that the "Murder, Inc" moniker was invented by the media, and the actual organization never used that name.


texts: What does WW2 US Army discharge code W.D. CIR 395, 1942 mean?

texts: My father was honorably discharged from the US Army in 1943. My question is what is W.D. Cir. 395, 1942? He served only 2 months and 8 days. His occupation at that time was listed as Turret Lathe Operator.


texts: Where is the sword used to execute Queen Anne Boleyn?

texts:
If a 'skilled' (with sword) executioner was summoned from Calais, did he bring his own 'equipment' and, if so, is there record of him & it there?

Was the sword seized when Francis, Duke of Guise retook the area in Calais' fall of 1558?  And if so, where would it have gone?

As the oldest known such executioner's sword dates from 1540, has it been lost, destroyed or 'archived'?


texts:
I stumbled in wikipedia upon a lovely story about a man called Asselin FitzArthur who stopped the burial proceedings of William the Conqueror in Caen, claiming that the church stood on land that had been illegaly seized by the late king from his family. His claims won support and the burial was resumed only after he was properly reimbursed.

What is the origin of the story? Some googling only led me a poem and a boys' novel, both from Victorian England. I'd like to know from which chronicle the story came.


texts: Isn't there any positive legacy of the Mongolian occupation in Russia?

texts: In the BBC radio 4 series The Wild East, the history of Russia after the Mongolian occupation is described as if all the bad things happend subsequently had been caused by the legacy of that era. Isn't there any positive legacy of the Mongolian occupation in Russia ? For example, didn't the newly opened up trade route to the east benefit the economy of Russia ? Wasn't the cultural influence from the east one of the appeals of the Russian music to the West European audiences in the early 20th century ?


texts:
I am trying to understand the Japanese Grand Strategy in WW2 when it comes to handling the US. My current understand, based primarily on extensive Wikipedia reading is as follows:
Motivation: The Japanese industry had an unmet need for resources that they couldn't meet through import (partially because they were embargoed by the US). It was felt necessary to get control of Indonesia to fix this, and seen as certain that the US would intervene. The attack on the US was meant to preempt this, and the main war goal against the US was to simply get them to back down. The odds were not seen as good though.
Strategy:

Cripple the US pacific fleet.
Grab all the pacific islands.
Weaken the Americans as they fight their way across the Pacific.
Annihilate the US fleet in a decisive battle.
???

Analysis: Clearly, the plan was off the rails by the end of Midway (somewhere around moving from 2. to 3.); and it seems near impossible to imagine Leyte Gulf ending with a resounding Japanese victory.
My question: I don't follow how the Japanese planned to transition from success in Step 4 to achieving US withdrawal from the war. Given the massive disparity in production and training capacities, the US could have just created another fleet and tried again. What was the level of understanding the Japanese decision makers had about how the US would decide whether to keep fighting or not? Stuff like the timing of Pearl Harbor vs the official war declaration or the treatment of US PoWs seem to me as hardening the views of the US public, and making it harder to imagine them accepting a "white peace" of some sort.


texts: Were there ever any libraries in medieval villages?

texts: I know that in towns and cities there might be libraries built, but is it possible or likely that peasants can have access to it as well? I've heard that every village has an least a monastery or church, but I don't think they keep books there.


texts: When was first security screen door instaled in Seoul metro

texts:
My task is to document Seouls metro history. However, I'm from Czech Republic which limits selection of sites I can get data from. (I don't speak Korean, and google translate usually fails).

Also, Seouls is relatively new so it's history is not as documented as coustruction of old European metros.

An information that I miss very much is date of the first sucessflly instaled platform security door and in which station was it.


texts: What unique personal experiences contributed to the formation of Mao's brand of Communism?

texts: Political scientists cite his personal attributes and exposure to the proletariat as synergistic in the formation of his doctrine. What particular experiences in Mao Zedong's formative years influenced his brand of Communism? I'm asking for specific events he witnessed as a youth and people who shaped his ideology.


texts: This was taken in Detroit and was in my Grandmother's photos.  (She was born in 1873).  I'm not sure whether it is a Fraternity uniform or a military uniform.


texts: How much knowledge of the past was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries?

texts:
Apart from the buildings themselves, what items of particular historical value were lost during Henry VIII's reign? Wikipedia's 'Dissolution of the Monasteries' makes some mention of libraries but does not say which documents of particular value were lost forever (other than manuscripts of church music). For example, were any chronicles destroyed? What can we tell from documents that are referenced in surviving manuscripts?

Also, I know that some tombs were destroyed (e.g. Thomas Becket) and some burial locations lost (e.g. at Blackfriars, those of Henry and Alphonso, children of Edward I). Were any other royal/noble burial sites destroyed or lost, especially from early Anglo-Saxon times up to the reign of Edward I?

I'm not looking for a list, more of an overview. I'm trying to get an idea of how much knowledge was lost.


texts: Did Lenin approve of Mussolini’s march on Rome?

texts: Did Vladimir Lenin send Mussolini a congratulatory telegram when Mussolini successfully marched on Rome in 1922?


texts: Did the Bar Kokhba revolt happen before or after Jerusalem's name was changed to Aelia?

texts:
There are conflicting views with respect to this on the net.
Wikipedia's summary of the names of Jerusalem asserts that the name was changed before the Bar Kokhba revolt, and that was one of the cause of the revolt.

  Aelia Capitolina was the Roman name given to Jerusalem in the 2nd century, after the destruction of the Second Temple.

(the Bar-Kokhba revolt is recorded at 132-136 CE)

Wikipedia's summary of the Bar Kokhba revolt places, states that the name changed happened after the revolt, as a way of ensuring such things never happened again.

  Hadrian . . .  re-established Jerusalem, but now as the Roman pagan polis of Aelia Capitolina . . .

Which is correct?

Also, was the statue of Jupiter in Jersusalem (in the holy sanctuary?), constructed before or after the revolt ?


texts: How did the Tutsis win the civil war in Rwanda after 70% of them had been killed?

texts:
I read an assertion that as high as over 70% of Rwanda's Tutsis were killed in the Rwanda genocide. Yet immediately after the genocide the anti-government Tutsi rebel group NPF successfully defeated the government and seized the power. In the aftermath many Hutus fled the country. Even more, the new Tutsi-led government succeeded to defeat DR Kongo in a bloody war.

I wonder if there was such great hatred between Hutus and Tutsis with Tutsis being a minority and 70% of this minority exterminated, how they could win the civil war and secure the power?

How this new government could be be successful to secure loyalty of the army so to defeat Kongo in the aftermath?

Why the Hutus who were the majority in the country fled it in the aftermath of the Tutsi takeover?

It seems that the Hutu government was defeated in immediate consequence of the genocide. How killing the Tutsi could harm the Hutu effort to win the civil war?


texts: How much power and influence could a child monarch have?

texts:
As I understand, if a monarch died before his heir reached adulthood, the heir would still become a king or queen regardless of age, but the country would be temporarily governed by a regent. I want to know, whether an underage monarch could wield some amount of political power.

For example, would a boy king's opinion be taken into account when appointing a regent, or what could happen if the king disagreed with the regent's decision. Also, how much personal freedom did young monarchs have? Without any living relatives, would anyone have the authority to force them to study or punish them for bad behaviour?

This question is generally about medieval Europe, but if there are any good examples from other times and places, I would be glad to hear them too.


texts: Are Ashkenazi Jews decendants of Khazars? Was there a mass conversion of Khazars to Judaism?

texts: I think the title is pretty self explanatory.  I have heard that they are not "truly" semitic.  Wikipedia says that it is possible.  Does anyone have more direct evidence?


texts: What was the natural population growth of Scotland between 1600 and 1900?

texts: By natural, I mean as a result of births and deaths, rather than emmigration and immigration. I can find data for the total population size (e.g. here) but not for natural population moves and I gather migration was an important shaper of demography in this period.


texts: Why did Guinea vote so differently in the 1958 French constitutional referendum?

texts:
In the 1958 French constitutional referendum, 79.3% of Metropolitan France and 82.3% of the territories voted in favor of the constitution.  Out of the latter, votes in favor ranged from 64.40% in French Polynesia to 99.99% in Côte d'Ivoire.  Except for one major outlier: Guinea, where 4.78% voted in favor and 95.22% voted against.

Why was there such a huge difference in the attitude to this referendum between Guinea and any other territory?  Wikipedia notes that Alongside Niger, Guinea was one of only two territories where the major political party campaigned for a "no" vote, but I wonder if that is enough to explain it, in particular since Niger had 78.43% voting in favor.


texts: Why wasn't Russia in the Paris Peace Talks?

texts: After the loss of World War One by Germany and Austria, the Allies convened to discuss in the Paris Peace Talks. It is understandable that Germany and Austria were not allowed to participate in these peace talks. What I don't understand is why Russia wasn't invited to participate. Hadn't they helped the Allies win the war by attacking Germany on the Eastern Front? I understand they were communist, but weren't they a major factor in the victory of World War One?


texts: Did Muslim states hire Western European knights as mercenaries before the Crusades?

texts:
In the book Hattin by John France the following claim is made:

  The fighting qualities of western knights were widely recognized in
  the Mediterranean lands, and they were often employed even by Muslim
  powers. (p.19)

But Mr. France gives no examples. Are there any?


texts: When was the concept of the "border wall" between the United States and Mexico first proposed?

texts:
The current American president Donald Trump has become notorious for (among other things) championing the idea to build a 18+ foot concrete wall across the entire US/Mexican border. Where did this concept originally come from? A news article I read some time ago (which frustratingly I can't find right now) dating back to Bush Sr.'s term commented on the development of some sort of river extension project which would 'incidentally' serve as a moat and garnered a protest from the Mexican government at the time, so developing a large barrier is not an idea unique to the 2016 political landscape, but I'm curious if that project in the '90s was the first real attempt in this direction.

The earliest date that any massive building project somewhat similar in scale to Donald Trump's wall, whether a wall, ditch or moat, was proposed would be sufficient to answer this question.

For "bonus points", if this idea came up regularly in US history, when did it first become politically or socially unpopular (rather than being merely viewed as impractical)?


texts: Was Kingdom of Cochin the only kingdom in South Asia to be a protectorate of (any empire of) China?

texts:
The Wikipedia article on the Kingdom of Cochin says:

  The kingdom of Cochin was the only kingdom in South Asia to be a
  protectorate of China. The King of Cochin received special treatment,
  because he had sent tribute since 1411 and later also sent ambassadors
  to request the patent of investiture and a seal. The Chinese Emperor
  granted him both requests.


texts: Was The Prince by Machiavelli intended as satire?

texts:
Researching Machiavelli's other works, I found online that there is a disagreement on whether The Prince was actually meant to be read as political satire.

http://www2.idehist.uu.se/distans/ilmh/Ren/flor-mach-mattingly.htm

The writer takes the position that The Prince is not inline with Machiavelli's other works, but I don't know enough about Italian history or the man to know if his evidence is strong.

Is there reliable evidence in favor of The Prince as a political satire?
Is there reliable evidence in favor of The Prince as a genuine guide?


texts: What was the structure of religious beliefs among the Arabic peoples before conversion to Islam?

texts:
Other questions on this topic has addressed the pre-Islamic religious beliefs in broad detail, including the conversion of near-Arab cultures.

What was the specific nature of the pre-Islamic religious concepts? e.g.

categorization of beings/anima,
species of animistic action
worship, veneration
contracts, petitions
funerary
etc.

We know so much about Greek (pagan) beliefs, by comparison.

It is understood that Christianity and Judaism were operative in the area before the prevalence of Islam. (good answers would naturally make brief mention of these)  The question is aimed at the structure of belief systems that came to be known as 'idol worshippers', etc. — many of which are presumed to no longer be practiced.


texts: How much is known about the Earl of Sandwich's sandwich?

texts: According to the Wikipedia article on sandwich, the food was named after the Earl of Sandwich. How much details exist about his first sandwich? Is there enough details to accurately recreate it?


texts: What alternatives to working was proposed in Paris during May, 1968?

texts:
What ideas for alternatives to work, or a society where people work to survive, did people have during May 1968 in Paris? How could that society function and how could people feed themselves?
I've seen here http://www.bopsecrets.org/CF/graffiti.htm that during the May 1968 riots in Paris people thought there was a way to live without working. For example the previous site mentions:

Commute, work, commute, sleep . . .
We don’t want a world where the guarantee of not dying  of starvation
brings the risk of dying of boredom.
People who work get bored when they don’t work.  People who don’t work
never get bored.
Never work.
Zelda, I love you! Down with work!

This site ( https://libcom.org/history/slogans-68 )  implies it was (more specifically) the perspective of The Situationists who had these ideas :

The Situationist perspective was found in:

Never work
We don't want a world where the certainty of not dying of hunger is exchanged for the risk of dying of boredom
Live without dead time and play without hindrance

Edit because stack exchange is saying it lacks details or clarity:
In other words, what ideas did the people who were against work in Paris during the May 1968 riots have for way to survive as opposed to working? What ideas did they have for how people would feed and clothe themselves and get the necessary materials to survive and live? The answer can cover any idea presented from anyone who could have supported or participated in that movement who was against work as a means of survival.


texts: Hiring professionals to transcribe historical documents

texts:
I'm sorry if this question sounds strange but I'm not sure where else in the world to post it.

I have an eighteenth-century will that I'd like to be able to read, but I have very little practice in the art and find the document difficult to parse:

Are there professionals whom one can hire to transcribe a document of this sort? I would be grateful for any advice others can offer on this question.


texts: Why was Britain willing to return Hong Kong but not Gibraltar?

texts:
Why was Britain willing to return Hong Kong to China, but not Gibraltar to Spain?
Was it because Gibraltar has more strategic value than Hong Kong?


texts: Did unmarried Spartan women have longer hair than men?

texts:
I understand that in ancient Sparta, men wore their hair long whereas married women cut theirs short. However, in the brief mentions I've read about this (such as in one answer to "When and why did having long hair become associated with women, and short hair with men?"), I've never read anything about how long was the hair of unmarried women relative to that of men. Did unmarried Spartan women have longer hair than men, was their hair equally long, or was it shorter?

I asked a separate, more general question about "Has there been any culture where men typically have longer hair than women?", but this question I am asking here is much more specific, relating only to the situation of ancient Sparta.


texts: Did the Romans make any efforts to catalogue foreign languages? Or their own? Or none at all? I'm sure none have survived, but were dictionaries as a concept known to their general populace?


texts: Why did Thomas Larkin write his biographical sketches?

texts:
Thomas Larkin, wealthy merchant of Monterey, California in the 1840s, was the consul of the United States. He was also a secret agent for President Buchanan who sent to Washington 78 microbiographies of the "principal men" in California. In a systematic fashion, he described the influence and politics of these men; the text is reproduced in the Larkin Papers.

I want to know why this information was interesting for the U.S. government. Did Buchanan or his proxies directly request this type of report? Did the U.S. do anything with the biographical information that Larkin sent?

Sources: Thomas O. Larkin: A Life of Patriotism and Profit in Old California by Hague & Langum, and Founding the Far West: California, Oregon, and Nevada, 1840-1890 by Johnson.


texts: Were the NKVD hated by the regular army like the SS was?

texts: I remember reading about how the Wehrmacht and the SS soldiers never got along, and I was wondering if it was the same way in the Soviet Union, with the regular Red Army not liking the NKVD?


texts: Was the Holy Roman Empire a financial union as well as a defensive union?

texts:
The Holy Roman Empire was a union of countries under one rule and under one emperor.

My question is:
Was the Holy Roman Empire a financial union too or just defensive union? For example was any tax that every country should have paid to the government or they just were needed to help in case of a war to defense the empire?


texts: How was Australia able to start to demobilize in 1944?

texts:
Frank Welsh's mammoth history of Australia, Great Southern Land notes that

  From June 1944 ... the Australian government began demobilising its soldiers.

Welsh doesn't go into detail but I'm assuming this was a partial demobilisation since no one is suggesting Australian forces overall took no further part in the war.

Surely Australia was the only nation on earth demobilising (or partially demobilising) its soldiers in 1944? Taking the Americans as the lead Allied power in the Pacific, was Australian demobilisation at their suggestion? Or did they object to it? If the latter, did this sour Australian-American relations?

I accept that militarily the threat to Australia was over in 1944, so the question is how was it politically & diplomatically possible, not how was it possible militarily.

NB. Wikipedia's page on Australia's WW2 history doesn't mention a 1944 demobilisation but I am making the assumption Welsh is a reliable source


texts:
According to Wikipedia, Byzantium Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos and The Empress Helena, acting as regent, appealed to Ottoman Sultan Murad II.

Just wondering why they appealed to Ottoman Sultan's consulting ?

Despite the foreign and domestic difficulties during his reign, which culminated in the fall of Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire, contemporary sources generally speak respectfully of the Emperor Constantine. When his brother, Emperor John VIII Palaiologos, died childless, a dispute erupted between Constantine and his brother Demetrios Palaiologos over the throne. Demetrios drew support by opposing the union of the Orthodox and Catholic churches. The Empress Helena, acting as regent, supported Constantine. They appealed to the Ottoman Sultan Murad II to arbitrate the disagreement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_XI_Palaiologos


texts: Why were so very similar names chosen for the European Council and Council of the European Union?

texts:
There are two official EU institutions which have very similar names but do very different things:

The European Council, which is a strategic body comprised of the heads of state or government of the member states, and
the Council of the European Union or just Council, which is one of the legislative bodies of the EU and consists of the national ministers (in varying combinations).

Obviously, this can lead to a lot of confusion. Why weren't more distinctive names chosen for those two institutions? (In particular, since there's also the Council of Europe, which predates the European Union and is something completely differnt.)


texts:
Wikipedia says:

  According to Antony Beevor, whose books were banned in 2015 from some Russian schools and colleges, NKVD (Soviet secret police) files have revealed that the leadership knew what was happening, including about the rape of Soviet women liberated from labour camps, but did nothing to stop it. Some Russian historians disagree, claiming that the Soviet leadership took swift action.

But the citation provided is dead. My question is, Do NKVD files say that during WWII, Soviet leadership knew about the rape of Soviet women liberated from labour camps and did nothing to stop it?


texts: Were any of the historical figures of the American Civil War close at West Point?

texts: I know many of them went to West Point around the same time. Do we know about their collegiate interactions with each other? Were Lee and Grant friends? Did Stonewall ever prank Custer?


texts: Could an enlisted soldier in German Imperial Army get rank above Gefreiter?

texts:
According to wiki, up until 1918, Gefreiter was the only rank to which an enlisted soldier could be promoted.

Sounds strange. Is it true?

Where did Germans take their Corporals, Sergeants and Feldwebels?

Couldn't a soldier that already had become a Gefreiter be promoted further even if he had accomplished something big? Even during the Great War?

I remember from Hindenburg biography that he despised Hitler for reaching only Gefreiter rank in such a great war. I think, German marshal should know the rules...


texts: What triggered the movement from the late archaic to the early classical/severe era?

texts: Most art historians say the movement resulted from the Persian Wars. I've also read that the rejection of Persian ideals and culture triggered the movement into the classical style art. Does anyone have any sources they could share that could possibly provide insight to this question?


texts: What is the history behind the stripes on the East India Company's flag?

texts:
Having stumbled across the East India Company's flag, I couldn't help but notice the similarity to the US flag.

However, I would like to know what the history of the stripes on the Company's flag was since Wikipedia does not really say anything on it.


texts: Why are Quebeckers different from Acadians?

texts:
These two French-speaking peoples of Canada are quite distinct, both in linguistic as well as historical terms. How did this difference arise? Did they arrive at different times to Canada? Do they originate from different regions of France? And why are their accents so different? References will be very much appreciated.

PS: I know enough about Canadian history to understand the different paths that the two groups took after the British expulsion of Acadians. It's more the separate origins of the two groups I'm interested in.

EDIT: Below are the references I have consulted. None of them clearly addressed my question.

The History of Canada by Scott W. See, Grey House Publishing, Inc., 2011
Various English Wikipedia articles on New France, Acadia, Quebec, History of Canada
Canada: A People's History (A 32-hour documentary produced by the CBC)


texts: How far away could one be and still see the atom bomb explosions?

texts:
In the film Empire of the Sun (1987), the Nagasaki atom bomb explosion is depicted as being visible (albeit faintly) from Shanghai. Would that really have been possible? According to Google, the two cities are about 810 km apart.

Update: I've uploaded the clip from the movie to YouTube.


texts: Has there ever been litigation over a salvaged shipwreck between a European country and a former ex-colony?

texts:
International law on shipwreck salvage rights has not yet stabilised and usually requires case-by-case litigation. A common example of this is litigation between a commercial salvage company and the flag state (nation) of the recovered shipwreck.

Considering that many shipwrecks with rich cargoes are from the Age of Discovery/Exploitation: Has there ever been a salvage dispute between an ex-colony and its former colonial master?

For example, a shipwreck that was carrying gold and silver from Mexico to Spain being litigated by Mexico as "The stolen wealth of the Mexican people" versus Spain's "It was our ship and you were our colony when it sank".

This scenario needn't be limited to colonies or shipwrecks in the Americas.


texts: How late where plumed helmets and muscle cuirasses used by Roman/Byzantine soldiers?

texts:
According to the osprey book Byzantine Imperial Guardsmen by Raffaele D’Amato, Byzantine imperial guardsmen where known to have worn muscle cuirasses and also plumed helmets.

Its gotten me curious and i would like to know how late soldiers in the Greco-Roman road made use of classically inspired armour.

How late can we trace the use of things such as Corinthian/Attic/Roman plumed helmets and muscle cuirasses? and where they merely for decorative purposes or actually used in combat?


texts: How do we compare historical empires on these statistics?

texts:
I see three criteria here:
I'm wondering which historical empire was the most long lived, largest, most populous, and represented the largest percentage of world population.

Who controlled the greatest amount land [highest estimate at the geographical peak of the empire]?
Who lasted the longest [highest estimate available]?
Who ruled the most people [highest estimate at population peak of the empire]?

a. In terms of sheer numbers

b. In terms of percentage of the total population of the world at the time.


texts: What types of weapons did the British army use in the late 1890's?

texts: I am particularly interested in the types of rifles that troops serving in Africa would use, especially during the 1890's. Did they have any kind of repeating rifles, or were they still using single shot rifles? Any specific details would be appreciated.


texts: Nowadays in politics, critics of Keynesian economics say it is unsustainable spending. However, I know that John Maynard Keynes actually said budgets should be balanced in the medium term, just not the short term. Did his theory face this same criticism/misconception during his own time, and how did Keynes respond to them?


texts: Why are there no dogs pictured in paleolithic cave paintings?

texts:
It has been described before that the occurence of reindeers is strangely low, while this was the main food source.
But isn't it even stranger for dogs? Recent genetic research suggest that dogs were domesticated a lot earlier than any other animal, which makes sense for hunters. The distinction between dog and wolf may become blurred over long times - and while e.g. chauvet cave pictures a wide variety of wild predators, even owls and hyenas, no wolf is pictured either.

Were dogs/wolves too 'ordinary' to be portrayed here, more so than reindeer?


texts: Why did fighter pilots wear their hats lopsided during the World Wars?

texts:
In many photographs of flying aces of the two World Wars, they wear their hats in a lopsided manner instead of straight. Here's photos of Albert Ball, a British WWI era pilot, and Erich Hartmann, the German fighter ace from WWII.

When did this tradition of slanted hats originate, and is there a known reason for its prominence during the World War era?


texts: Why does the US have many top-level web domains?

texts:
Why does the US have top-level domains like .gov, .mil and others, while other nations can only use second level domains for their government agencies? It might seem an easy question, but I think it is interesting to know details that possibly are not written on Wikipedia.
Migrated from networkengineering.stackexchange.com.
Migrated from retrocomputing.stackexchange.com.


texts: How often were slaves raised by their parents in 19th century USA?

texts: American slave owners wanted their slaves to have children, but they didn't always allow their slaves to marry, and often sold families piecemeal. About what percentage of slaves were raised by both biological parents until adulthood?


texts: Did the founding fathers think civil wars would be frequent?

texts:
I think I remember learning that one of the founding fathers (Thomas Jefferson maybe?) wrote (in a Federalist Paper maybe?) that there would need to be a civil war about once a generation to sustain liberty in the United States.

Is this correct? If so, could someone point me to the document where this was stated?


texts: The 2011 Libya action by France, UK, US was supported by a UN resolution - but was it subverted for regime change?

texts: The 2011 Libya action by France, UK, US was supported by a UN resolution authorising enforcement of a no-fly zone - but is there any evidence that the resolution was used as a pretext for the larger act of regime change?


texts: Could a German insult Hitler without being arrested?

texts:
According to Wikipedia, in its article about general Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck,

  Later, when Hitler offered him the ambassadorship to the Court of St James's in 1935, he “declined with frigid hauteur”; the suggestion for the nomination as ambassador to the Court of St James had come from retired Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen during a visit to Berlin. During the 1960s, Charles Miller asked the nephew of a Schutztruppe officer, “I understand that von Lettow told Hitler to go fuck himself.” The nephew responded, “That's right, except that I don't think he put it that politely.”

The Wikipedia article cites as a source Charles Miller's Battle for the Bundu, The First World War in East Africa, a book that I don't have access to.

My question is: how likely it is that this history is true? I would expect that a German citizen who would insult Hitler at a time when he already was the German chancellor would, at the very least, be arrested. However (still according to that Wikipedia article) all that happened to him after his blunt refusal was that he was kept under continual surveillance and that his home office was searched. On the other hand, in 1938 he was promoted to the rank of General for Special Purposes.

Perhaps that the fact that he was a highly respected German officer saved is life. Could that be it?


texts: Did the Marshall plan only give back a part of what was taken?

texts:
I was just reading the German Wikipedia article on Operation Overcast and found a (for me) curious statement.

Basically it states, that the US alone did confiscate patents and industrial secrets with the value of $10 billion from Germany directly after the war.¹ It continues with setting this into relation to the benefits Germany received through the Marshall plan, which are said to total at $1.4 billion.

I think, the reader of this Wikipedia article must come to the perception, that the Marshall plan did only give back, a part of what was taken - or atleast the author seems to try to convey this message, by setting this two numbers into relation.

If we take this as a fact, I think it would be fair to say that the Marshall plan can't be responsibly for the rising of the German economy after World War Two ("Wirtschaftswunder") then.

Is this view historically correct, or does that leave out any important facts which ought to be considered?

I'm particularly curious, because I was told in school (years ago) that the Marshall plan was the main reason or one of the main reasons for the "Wirtschaftswunder" in the first place.

(1) The given source is "Professor John Gimbel, Science Technology and Reparations: Exploitation and Plunder in Postwar Germany".


texts: Are there any historical references to Edmund Burkes' views on anti-Semitism? His works specifically deal with the British governance, and legal systems' that could guide the UK through the turbulent times of revolutions (like the French Revolution). What exactly are his views on anti-Semitism? Can any light be shed on Burkean thought in this respect? Any references appreciated!


texts: How long did it take to build earth dikes with low-tech tools?

texts:
Let's say you're in charge of a group of laborers anywhere from the Iron Age to the Middle Ages.

Your job is to build a dike made of earth, a couple of meters high and presumably about the same width (since the angle of repose of shoveled earth isn't very steep). You have shovels and any other tools of the era.

How many man-days of labor does it take per meter of dike?

Primary sources would be best, but modern reconstructions using historical techniques would be acceptable.


texts: Were Magellan's wife and kids held hostage?

texts: I feel like I read somewhere that, in an attempt to make sure Ferdinand Magellan returned to Spain, King Charles held his wife and kids hostage (or at least kept them in the area) until he returned from circumnavigating the world. Is there any truth to this?


texts: Did Tito back the Bulgarian anti Communist Goryani resistance movement?

texts:
I was doing Wikipedia based (mixed quality source) research on the Goryani anti communist resistance movement in Bulgaria and found the following interesting statement:

“During the same period, some 15 Goryani parachuted into the Kazanlak and Ihtiman areas from training camps in Yugoslavia and France.”

Wikipedia: Goryani

It is very unlikely that Tito would have not have known about these training camps inside his country. I would presume that he allowed them to be there. The question is why. Why would he permit  a Bulgarian anti-Communist   movement to seek sanctuary within his own country?

What is it simply a deal between the two forces, where they both shared a common enemy with the Kremlin backed Soviet forces ruling Bulgaria?

Or did Tito back some faction of the Bulgarian anti-communist resistance movement that was willing to support his ambitions for a pan Balkan Confederation (and found Tito’s version of communism more ‘tolerable’). This question is based on the following Wikipedia data:

“Tito planned to absorb Albania and Greece in cooperation with Bulgaria, thereby setting up a powerful Eastern Europe bloc outside Moscow's control. Stalin could not tolerate that...”

Wikipedia: Tito Stalin Split

I find it odd that Tito would back such a hard-core anti-Communist rebel movement. The reference to this rebel movement having training camps  in France is also fascinating. France was a member of NATO at the time.  If this information is valid, then it implies that there was at least one case where NATO and Yugoslavia worked together to threaten Soviet interests in eastern Europe.

I posted this question to seek more details on these topics as well as to spark further research amongst others who may find this interesting.


texts:
I read in a William Smith Quora answer that this question "is easily answered" because Vasari wrote that Leonardo, on his deathbed, asked for the sacraments. I don't say this is false, but it looks a bit hasty conclusions. How reliable is Vasari's anecdote? In my experience, today religious are usually very nice persons, and surely they would find a cruelty impose sacraments on a atheist in his deathbed, but centuries ago things were probably different. I add that a radical religious could think that creating an urban legend like that about famous people could be the best thing to do to save street people's souls. Maybe  Vasari was in good faith, and maybe he is right too, but I wonder which is the source about this anecdote.
What filled me with doubt about Leonardo da Vinci's possible atheism is his sentence "As a day well spent makes sleep seem pleasant, so a life well employed makes death pleasant". Maybe I wrong, but this looks to me the sentence of a men that  accept death like a falling asleep forever, nothing more and nothing less than that. I add that I find plausible that five centuries ago people uses keeping to himself explicit thinking about atheism, to avoid troubles; so his claim "a small truth is better that a great lie" could be read, maybe, as a cryptic critic to official religions.
Everyone has a sort of religiosity. But maybe Leonardo's religiosity was an "atheistic" one,  without gods or churchs. I'm very curious about this question, and probably nobody can answer to this for sure. But I wonder what data we have to get an idea about the answer and maybe someone more informed than me can be illuminating. My interpretations of the two sentences I quoted are too forced? Was Vasari source's reliable? What other sources we have about Leonardo's religious thinking?


texts: Was Nixon's Vietnam claim right before the 1968 election true?

texts:
In Richard Nixon's final appeal to voters on NBC right before the 1968 Presidential Election, he made an explosive claim about the Vietnam war.  Here is how the Eugene Register-Guard reported it:

  [Nixon] said he had a “very disturbing report,” gleaned from an unnamed Air Force general, that the enemy was moving thousands of tons of supplies into South Vietnam.... [Hubert] Humphrey branded the Nixon charge "totally irresponsible," and accused the Republican of trying to "frighten the American people."

This charge was a big deal at the time, because then-President Lyndon B. Johnson had negotiated a ceasefire in Vietnam, and Nixon was casting doubt on whether it was working.

My question is, was Nixon telling the truth that an Air Force general had told him that the North Vietnamese were moving thousands of tons of supplies into South Vietnam?  And was it actually true that the North Vietnamese were doing this at the time?


texts: and  are random a photos from a performance of Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. The emblem number 1, as I understand, is the Imperial Seal. But I couldn't find any information about the emblem number 2. Can you say, what it is?


texts: How did 15th century royals identify themselves in England/Spain?

texts:
I'm studying the customs of medieval Europe to gather information for a novel I'm writing and a question has arisen about how the nobles, especially the royal family, identified themselves. Did they use their surname/family name or did they use the country/kingdom to which they belonged?  For example, if we were in the Middle Ages, Anne (the daughter of Queen Elisabeth II) would be Anne of the United Kingdom or Anne Windsor/ of the House of Windsor.  And if both are correct, which would be the most common?
My doubt arises because for example Queen Elisabeth (wife of Edward IV) was called Elisabeth of York (York was the royal house to which she belonged), while Queen Catherine (first wife of Henry VIII) was called Catherine of Aragon (Aragon was the country to which she belonged).
It may also be that this is due to the names that historians have subsequently chosen. If this is the case I ask again how they were usually called in their time.
As I understand it, the nobles, who did not belong to the royal family, did use the family surnames.
All this has come up to me because I am a big fan of Game of Thrones, which is also slightly based on the Middle Ages, and there all the characters (or almost all of them) are identified with their first name + their family surname; and I wondered if in medieval Europe this also happened. I don't want my novel to be a copy of Game of Thrones and that's why I prefer to base it on what really happened in the Middle Ages.
If you could inform me about Spain and England in the years 1400-1500. And if it could be that they were not examples but the common way in which nobles and members of the royal family were identified in their time.


texts: At 300 AD, how many christians were there?

texts:
How many are Arians (don't believe Jesus is God)
How many are Binitarian (believe Jesus is God)
How many are Trinitarian (believe that God is, father, son and holy spirit?)
How many are Gnostics?
How many are ....

Are there estimates?

Basically I am wondering why only 2-22 bishops in Nicea support Arianism. I wonder if Arians are indeed few.

I am well aware that it's not going to be accurate. But we sort of know how many people are in Rome empire, and we sort of guess how many are Christians. I am sure we'll come up with something. Very rough estimates are fine.


texts: Is there a possibility that the Islamic civilization visited America before Columbus?

texts:
Islamic sources claim that there is historical evidence that an Islamic explorer visited America before Columbus and the Age of Discovery. An example. Columbus Was Not The First To Cross The Atlantic. The earliest evidence that this article claims was during Islamic rule in Spain.
Is there archaeological or independent literary evidence that suggest the possibility of Islamic explorers having visited America before the Age of Discovery?


texts: What toilet facilities were available at large formal gatherings in 19th century America?

texts:
I have seen many woodcuts and engravings of large groups of 19th century partygoers dressed in their finery enjoying themselves at parties or balls.

Sooner or later in any gathering, nature calls. What toilet facilities were typically available to handle the needs of attendees, especially women garbed in yards and yards of expensive cloth? Were attendants present to help the ladies? How was cleansing handled? Was hand-washing practiced?


texts: Is there convincing evidence that the language of Bulgars (proto-Bulgarians) was not Turkic, but Indo-European?

texts:
Wikipedia says that "Bulgar (also Bulghar, Bolgar, Bolghar) is an extinct Oghur Turkic language which was spoken by the Bulgars. "
I was not aware of a different hypothesis on this until I answered this question and, reading this answer I have found this linked article called Y-Chromosome Diversity in Modern Bulgarians: New Clues about Their Ancestry which concludes:

On the whole, in light of the most recent historical studies, which indicate a substantial proto-Bulgarian input to the contemporary
Bulgarian people, our data suggest that a common paternal ancestry
between the proto-Bulgarians and the Altaic and Central Asian
Turkic-speaking populations either did not exist or was negligible.

This line of argument is not impressive. The factual result of the genetic inquiry is that the present Bulgarian gene pool has no significant Turkic ancestry. But a conclusion that the same is true for the proto-Bulgarians can be reached only if "a substantial proto-Bulgarian input to the contemporary Bulgarian people" was a proven fact. (Which is not. The hard fact of present gene pool can be interpreted as insignificant proto-Bulgar ancestry in present Bulgarians.) Also, the conclusion mixes in one phrase genetic and linguistic ancestry.
I think that the question of "a substantial proto-Bulgarian input to the contemporary Bulgarian people" is very difficult to solve, and I imagine it cannot have a clear and definitive answer. What interests me here is a different one — because the same article also states:

Novel analyses of proto-Bulgarians epigraphic monuments, especially,
of the major historical inscription – “the List of the Bulgarian
Khans” - have revealed that the proto-Bulgarian language did not
belong to the Turkic linguistic family... ...for grammatical features the proto-Bulgarian language gravitates towards the Pamir languages of the East Iranian group, which belong to the Indo-European branch

I think that this question about the categorization of the (proto) Bulgar language can have a clearly cut answer.
The linked bibliography for that is:
Pritsak O (1955) Die Bulgarische Fürstenliste und die Sprache der Protobulgaren. Wiesbaden: Ural- Altaische Bibliothek, I.
Mänchen-Helfen O (1973) The world of the Huns. Studies in their history and culture. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Dobrev PD (1991) The Proto-Bulgarians - origin, language, culture. Sofia: Proxima.
Dobrev PD (2005) The golden core of the Bulgarian antiquity. Sofia: Tangra TanNakRa IK.
Dobrev P (1994) The world of the proto-Bulgarians: realities and misunderstandings. Sofia: IKK Slavika – RM.
Page numbers are not mentioned.
To what extent this hypothesis (that the language of Bulgars was not Turkic, but Indo-European) is accepted in mainstream scholarship?


texts: Did Vikings use of water bowls in this unhygenic way?

texts:
I am interested in understanding something which I have seen in the film 13th warrior where the Vikings all use the same bowl of water to clean themselves.  It also happens in the TV show Vikings (No link).
I am curious about a few things, (all really only one question).
What exactly is going on?

Is it really a Viking thing?
Why are they doing it?

Edit: Some clarification.
I am looking for information concerning whether this is a real Viking ceremony, (or custom). In the 13th warrior (the linked video) there is no mention of this, or why it is happening, and as was pointed out - is an actual account of some traveler. However - in the TV Vikings (no link) there is a hint that this is some sort of ceremony for either travelling, or war, or a new ship.


texts: Considering what was known about Hitler in 1933, why would German bishops declare that Catholics could cooperate with the new State?

texts:
Partially prompted by this other question "Were Hitler's anti-Jewish sentiments known at all to those who voted him to power in 1933?"

According to the information in above question, the antisemitism and private death squads of the Nazi party were already public knowledge.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967), Vol. 11, p.415 says, in the article PIUS XII, POPE as follows under the subheading "Concordat with Germany" (emphasis added):

  Soon after the concordat with *Austria, whose chancellor was
  *Dollfuss, another was concluded (July 20) with the German Republic. The *Hitler regime had first proposed it at Easter; it was the German
  government that initiated the proceedings. Previously (March 24), the
  *Center party and the Bavarian People's party, whom German Catholics rightly considered representatives of their interests, had approved
  the enabling act that gave Hitler unlimited powers. Also the German
  bishops had declared unequivocally (March 28) that Catholics could
  cooperate with the new State despite obviously irreconcilable
  differences between the Catholic Church and *National Socialism.

(reference below)

The bishops that unequivocally declared that Catholics could cooperate with the new State were Catholic bishops; the declaration was adopted in the Fulda Bishops' Conference (Fuldaer Bischofskonferenz) on March 28, 1933.

The Center (Zentrum) party mentioned above as having approved the enabling act was a denominational Roman Catholic party.

At the time of this declaration, the person who would later become known as Pope Pius XII was known as Cardinal Pacelli.

According to this article at skepticism.org, a result of the declaration was that

  Nazi Party members are also permitted to receive the sacraments while
  wearing Nazi uniforms, even if they appear in large groups. This not
  only opens the door for the signing of a Concordat between Hitler and
  the Vatican, but also encourages broader collaboration between
  Catholics in Germany and the Nazi regime

Update:
Before this declaration, the Catholic clergy had been forbidden to participate in the National Socialist movement. For example, the Bavarian Bishops' Conference issues a set of instructions to the clergy about National Socialism on 12 February, 1931. About these instructions, skepticism.org says:

  Priests are henceforth forbidden from joining the Nazi Party.
  Moreover, Nazi flags and uniforms are prohibited during Catholic
  church services.

The question I wanted to ask:

Considering what was known about about National Socialism at the time, and the stance of the Catholic Church until 1933, what were their reasons for this seeming u-turn in adopting this declaration?


texts: Was the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay actually important in 1985? And was it in any danger?

texts:
In the real world case that A Few Good Men is based on, in 1985 part of the guard for the base was a group called "The Ten" that went through grueling physical training in order to guard a fence. In the movie, everyone acts as if it's common knowledge that the base is providing freedom and protection to United States citizens. Was this just delusional, or would the average person have agreed with that in 1985? If they moved the base to actual US territory like Florida or Puerto Rico would it have changed anything at all?
Specifically I'm curious about the big climactic rant, and whether it's more a man doing an important job and saving lives but in an immoral way, or a man who's completely out of touch that he's in charge of high-end security guards for a fence no-one is attacking at a base that doesn't matter?

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know -- that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall -- you need me on that wall.
We use words like "honor," "code," "loyalty." We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line.
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.
I would rather that you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand the post.


texts: Did the Jesuit missions in New Spain coerce native labor?

texts:
Several Catholic orders operated missions in colonial Mexico; Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits (before their expulsion) all had their own strategies. Alejandro Murguía in The Medicine of Memory differentiates them thus (the bolding is mine):

  The Jesuits are teachers and scholars; the Franciscans, missionaries and colonizers. Whereas the Jesuits oppose enslavement of the Indians, the Franciscans are enemies of the flesh and firm believers in punishment.

Is this claim true? Jesuits in South America used indigenous labor that is easily compared to enslavement, just as the Franciscans did in the California missions (both examples of reducción). Were local conditions different and Murguía correct, or did Jesuit missions in New Spain also coerce native labor?


texts: Did the ancients or other pre-industrial civilisations engage in unsustainable practices?

texts:
A popular rhetoric we hear regarding sustainability is that modern life after industrialization and arrival of plastics and hydrocarbon fuels have led to environmental degradation on Earth and our ancients didn't indulge in such.  Another common motivation for sustainable practices is that our indiscretion today will affect generations tens or hundreds of years from now.

Did ancient peoples have unsustainable aspects to their lives, as viewed from today? Did such practices cause consequences that we still suffer today?

Update : Since one of the commenters to the question asked for sources of rhetoric :

http://upliftconnect.com/ancestors-cared-for-universe/

http://www.offthegridnews.com/how-to-2/honoring-our-ancestors-living-and-thriving-as-they-did/

https://steemit.com/life/@anamikasjain/did-our-ancestors-live-a-better-life-what-do-you-think

http://yogimami.com/ancestors-were-healthier/

https://www.positive.news/2017/perspective/29306/its-not-time-to-go-back-to-nature-but-to-go-forwards-to-nature/


texts: What process have countries followed when creating constitutions?

texts:
Countries that have been led by an individual (through a declaration, revolution, war, ...) have constitutions heavily influenced by that leader, for better or worse.

History has shown that simply running elections is not sufficient, because often the party winning the very first elections would in effect write the constitution. After that, there is the potential that every party winning subsequent elections would be inclined to annul it and write another.

How have countries that have had grassroots revolutions (such as the current upheaval in the Middle East) reached a consensus when faced with having to write a Constitution? Are there any specific examples of countries that have recently undergone similar turmoil and successfully emerged with something that others would consider a reasonably fair and impartial constitution? If so, what made their process unique enough to be successful?


texts: Why are the facades of some residential buildings in Paris, France, tilted?

texts:
In a major city that has an historical center, the standard list of attractions seldom includes what, in my opinion at least, constitutes the area's most important part: historical residential buildings built a long time ago.
Unlike cathedrals and palaces, these do not seem to be carefully designed. In France (and, specifically, in Paris), these buildings are from two to five stories high and have slanted facades. That's right: the facade is tilted backwards. And they're ubiquitous. All historic residential neighborhoods have them. Just like in the photo below.
You won't find anything like it in any other country (except maybe Belgium).
So, what's the idea?
Is it because in Italy, to pick a place at random, the slap-dash residential construction of yore used bricks and lime render as building materials, while in Paris they favored limestone - is a limestone wall prone to falling over unless you build it like a pyramid? Or does this design feature have something to do with natural light?
Note: sometimes, not always, the ground floor's wall is tilted the other way, like a section of an upended pyramid.
More: These buildings predate the Haussmann's Reconstruction, as attested by the black-and-white photos below. In fact, a lot of them got knocked down to make room for the boulevards. Many remain to this day, however, which is a good thing. They're typical of that city; they're its heart, if you ask me. And they're literally everywhere. Just get off the boulevard - any boulevard - and you'll see them.


texts: Is there a term for the principle of preferring earlier statements over later statements made by historical eye witnesses?

texts:
Back when I was majoring in History in college, one professor explained to the class that when a person made multiple statements about a time or event they lived through or were involved with, and they contradicted each other, it was generally best to give more weight to the earlier statements. The reasoning was primarily that the person's memory would be fresher and the actual course of events would tend to be more clear in their mind. Additionally, earlier comments would be less likely to be colored by long term reactions to the events (example: a politician who had been vocally pro-segregationist in the 1950s but then says in the 1990s that he never really liked the idea of segregation).
Since that time I have come across this principle stated in histories that I have read. Invariably when I see it, I am reading a very well-sourced history with solid analysis (most recently Playing at the World by Jon Peterson).
My question is this: is there a commonly used or accepted term for this historical principle?
Note that opinions on the validity or usefulness of the principle are not the subject of my question. Thank you.


texts:
I need to know who they are.
There is no signature or mark on it.
Thanks in advance.


texts: Why did China shut itself out of the world in the 15th century?

texts:
After a period of maritime explorations (see Zheng He) in the early 15th century, the Ming Dynasty started shutting the Middle Kingdom out of the rest of the world. This of course continued with the Qing, and the empire remained largely isolated until the 19th century, because of foreign "initiative."

However, just when Spain and Portugal started flourishing with an economy based on trade, the Chinese chose to close their doors to the world. Why might have caused them to do this?


texts: Did Henri III of France sleep with men? Did he not sleep with women?

texts:
Henry III of France was the last of the Valois line. He became king illegally (according to some sources). He produced no children. He had "Les Mignons" a group of very close friends he pampered and showered with favors: some say they were more than just friends.

He has been described as effeminate by historians and novelists alike. He had an aversion to women. He never entered his wife's bedroom. In his trilogy in which Henri figures as one of the major characters, Alexandre Dumas, Pere all but refers to him as homosexual.

Now suddenly historians reverse their opinion on him. According to them he had a stormy affair in Poland with a woman he loved. He also loved his wife with whom he had sexual intercourse practically every night. The canard about him being gay was concocted by his slanderers.

Why the sudden change?


texts: What is the original variant of the "Charles V Dominating Fury" statue?

texts: The statue "Charles V Dominating Fury" by Leone Leoni is known in two variants, in one the emperor is naked, in the other he is armoured. I wonder which variant is the original?


texts: How was the Cuban military capable of performing African interventions?

texts:
Cuba has led many interventions in Africa during the Cold War:

Instructors sent in Angola
Up to 400 000 soldiers, including instructors, tank brigades, air wings in Angola to help the fight against UNITA and South Africa
Instructors sent to Ethiopia during the Ogaden War

I am not discussing the political reasons in this question, unless they help to the understanding of the answer.
The question is about: How did Cuba reach a sufficient military level, in terms of quantity and quality, so that it brought an efficient help to African countries? Especially for the fight against South Africa?


texts: Fanons 'Concerning Violence' makes the point that Nazism was the culminating point of the project of European Colonialism, how true is that?

texts: He writes 'Not long ago Nazism transformed the whole of Europe into a veritable colony', meaning that the techniques pioneered in the colonies of Europe were turned upon Europe itself, culminating in the horrors of the holocaust, mirroring that, of say the Belgian Congo.


texts: What was the biggest shipbuilding centre in Europe during the Second Industrial Revolution?

texts:
I'm specifically interested in the United Kingdom, though I'd love to get a comparison between countries.

I would like any answer to cite records of number or tonnage of ships built. I'm interested only in the iron hulled, steam and screw propelled ships following SS Great Britain.


texts: Why are the ceilings so high in older houses?

texts: The majority of multi-storey houses built before World War II have ceilings higher than nowadays. Today, the standard is about 2.4m, but in the 19th century or the first half of the 20th century it was commonly about 3m high. Why? It's counter-intuitive: in earlier times, the technology was less capable of building high rises, so rather lower ceilings would have been expected.


texts: Why didn't former slaves become low-wage workers after emancipation?

texts:
The Southern economy is often said to have been in shambles after slaves were emancipated since slavery was largely an economic enterprise. I've also read that former slaves had difficulty finding jobs due to their race.

Why didn't former slaves transition to becoming low-wage workers after emancipation? It seems like this would have been an arrangement that benefitted both whites and blacks in the post-Civil War era.


texts: Where does the phrase "behind the wind" come from?

texts:
In Millennium: A History of the Last Thousand Years, chapter 4 ("The World Behind the Wind"), the second-to-last sentence:

  On the evidence of the events of the fifteenth century, in the world east of the Bay of Bengal—the world "behind the wind", as Arab navigators called it—China could have [...]

There's more to the sentence, but it's not relevant to this question. (it's about why China didn't end up conquering Europe)

The part I'm interested in is the "the world 'behind the wind', as Arab navigators called it".  Where was this term first used? i.e. he quotes Arab navigators, but which one and when?