February 2012
110 posts
azula-lyubov-deactivated2013012 asked: I have a very close friend of mine who is majoring in history (specifically Russian history) and he has just finished getting his bachelor degree. He's currently unable to talk as of late and I would appreciate it if you answered a question for me: Who was the real winner of the second world war? And who did most of the fighting? I was always under the impression Russia won but another friend...
January 2012
222 posts
3 tags
The manpower to build the Great Wall of China came from frontier guards, peasants, unemployed intellectuals, disgraced noblemen, and convicts. In fact, there existed a special penalty during the Qin and Han dynasties under which convicted criminals were made to work on the Wall.
suomisoundsmofos asked: I was just going to point out that thing with Norway but I see someone beat me to it. Well, I guess you have an area cover in the Nordic countries. Bring on the books! BTW, the two wars between the Soviet Union and Finland are indeed interesting. The first one, the Winter War (1939-1940), is rightly seen as a miracle. Although the real miracle is actually that Finland managed to unite it's...
Anonymous asked: As a different Swede, how can you also not mention Finland and Sweden together? That also seems of more importance & with more effects than Sweden & Norway. I don't mean to be rude, I know you're saying you don't know much about Scandinavian history, and I do love your blog. Please don't be offended! There was just so much that we had with Finland and still do. I love...
Anonymous asked: I had no idea that if you ran a history related Tumblr, you are supposed to know the detailed history of the entire world! You're so sweet to answer all of these questions from people, but some of the anonymous questions you are getting are really annoying. I am a passionate history major. I have learned a lot of interesting things but if people expect me to be a human encyclopedia about all...
Anonymous asked: On the subject of your Scandinavian history: What is this presidency you speak of?For that matter, who was the resistance leader in question? Norway is and was a monarchy. Also, Denmark's rule over Norway (1380-1814, though technically some of that covers the Kalmarunion) is of considerable significance compared to the relatively brief period under us Swedes.
shrinkwrappedpackets asked: OH HAY: Just throwing it out there: Quitting my job and going to school for History was like, the best idea ever.
oxfordcommaforever asked: Being French-Canadian is, in fact, a deal breaker. I had a bad experience with one at Epcot; she was on her smoke break (no surprise) and wouldn't well me a crepe.
thegr8destroyer asked: Seeing that Black History Month is tomorrow, any chance you could cover the three great kingdoms of West Africa?
suomisoundsmofos asked: Thanks for a great tumblr-blog! Do you have any interest in the history of Northern Europe?
Anonymous asked: Cantabridgian!anon here feels obliged to drop you a message saying Cambridge is vastly superior to Oxford in every way. Can't have them monopolising your ask box, after all.
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iwanderaimlessly asked: Lordamercy there are some condescending history jerks following you. I am officially annoyed that one of your followers is judging you based on the books you read! I'm sorry I even asked. I was just looking for new history books to read. You don't need a degree in history to be passionate about history. Books in the library are free. Amazon has text books. Keep on keeping on. I love your...
the-shy-guy-deactivated20120705 asked: I really like this blog. I've always had an affinity for history. Just want to say thanks for running this blog.
Anonymous asked: Well I've been to Oxford Circus xD
thelifeguardlibrarian asked: Hah, me, too. The summer of 2006. Too hot to think, which was just fine.
Anonymous asked: I bet you went to Oxford. Was it Oxford? Definitely Oxford.
captaincurve asked: "The repercussions will be felt in the long run, years from now when the majority of adults will be unable to distinguish fact from fiction." So then the movie Idiocracy wasn't whimsical fiction, it was a documentary from the future? I've always suspected as much.
Anonymous asked: Wow, I wish people would step off asking where you studied. It doesn't matter, guys! Let the blogger blog!
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timglennofglendora asked: Guns, Germs, and Steel? Not judging, but that might say more about you, or at least create perceptions about you, than you think. I can't think of a single person who didn't roll their eyes when that book came up in my seminar courses. For the record, I don't really care about your qualifications/degrees/etc... I think you have a great blog, regardless. But if I'm playing the...
A lot of kind people have informed me that she was saying “I follow you, please follow me” in Portuguese.
Anonymous asked: yo you're right to withhold that information. it is the events that occurred, and the people who changed the world, that will be remembered.... not the school of the blogger who reposted it. history is history. speak the facts
What planet did you study on?
Eros, actually. Since I was six.
tunel-do-terror-deactivated2012 asked: seguindo me segue tbm "-"
thisiskristine asked: Why can't you answer where you study? I don't think anybody is going to be able to pinpoint you from your college of study. That's a bit paranoid. Or do you not go anywhere you want to comment on? Or are embarrassed of? I'd happily say where I studied.
meatstuff asked: So...where did you study? he-he
iwanderaimlessly asked: What is your favorite history book? I love your blog. :)
magnicide-deactivated20120505 asked: where do/did you study?
Anonymous asked: I love this blog, the intellectual debates that go on always keep me entertained. Plus the information and facts about the past are always enjoyable. Keep up the good work.
Anonymous asked: Do you ever feel the same sense of utter despair as I do from reading some of the garbage that people accept as historical fact and blast all over Tumblr or the internet as a whole, and then proceed to defend those same utterly incorrect points in the most infantile manner possible?
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The Heretic Quota
Capital punishment actually wasn’t the norm in the Inquisition until the 13th century. Before that, methods varied but all accused heretics had their property confiscated. By the Catholic Church, of course. But beginning with Lucius III in 1184, Catholic popes handed out local Inquisition rights to European provinces. It was essentially franchising the right to take people’s property....
Anonymous asked: er let us not forget that the first immigrants from Europe to America disregarded Native American society and made no effort to "integrate". Thus the only reason America has been successful at "integrating" immigrants in the past is because the original culture was wiped away and the immigrants themselves defined the society. Europe has to find a balance between the traditional...
oxfordcommaforever asked: I'm glad someone realizes it. One caveat to this, are you an American? If not, that's a deal breaker, unless you're English, or from one of the Commonwealth nations.
xdonteverletitendx asked: thank you for the information on Denmark :)
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antoniusreginaldus asked: My screen name is a Latinisation of Anthony Renaud - Renaud being a final variant of Regnault, which is how my first Canadian ancestor (Charlesbourg, 1664) spelled it, or how the census people originally did.
Anonymous asked: So you think that immigrants and the more 'different' people should assimilate into whatever society they're in just because they don't fit as they are? The burqa is not, in any way, oppressive. I agree that the choice should be their own, but there is nothing wrong with it.
istanbuldayim asked: (cont. from other ask) to give women the type of outside support and, if need be, shelter that it would take for them to disobey their family's wishes and take of the niqab. However, I think in a place like France this kind of oppression is the minority. I can understand requiring women to show their faces in government IDs and the like, but banning a form of expression just on the off chance...
sirfazal asked: These exist, I will agree with you. And to anyone reading this, I still adhere to the idea that cultures like this are perversions of Islam. There are bad and good cases of all issues relating to all subjects. There are good Muslims and bad Muslims. There are good Christians and bad Christians. There are good atheists and bad atheists. Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, any and every faith has its good and...
sirfazal asked: This doesn't mean it's wrong to wear a burqa. It's just the way things are. There is nothing oppressive about it (referring to the person who said it was). The fact is: it is a choice. That is in the Islamic Law.
Anonymous asked: Re: the stuff about banning the burqa. The Politics of the Veil by Joan Wallach Scott is about the very issues that both the question and your answer brought up. As far as current issues go, some might consider it "outdated" (it was published in 2007), but I just read it a few months ago and thought it had a lot of really interesting things to say.
Anonymous asked: Not all prostitutes were forced into that lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with prostitution when you choose to do it. Also, banning burqas is a stupid idea because it does nothing for women's rights. You're still telling them what they can and can't wear....
sirfazal asked: Wearing a burqa is a matter of choice for a woman. At least, it's supposed to be. If a nation/government/dictator requires women to wear a burqa, it is a perversion of Islam, not true Islam. On the flipside, to ban a burqa is to ban the freedom of choice for women who choose to wear them.
Anonymous asked: Well then how about at least what degrees do you have?
oxfordcommaforever asked: Supposed to be funny, yes. Supposed to be ironic, no. I really do think we should change the motto to "Kicking Ass Since 1775", it might put some fear and respect into foreign types. I'm just not an average patriotic pro-America guy; I know what I'm talking about.
Anonymous asked: Don't you think we have a right to know what your qualifications are if you're going to pass the things you post here off as being true?
dream-crusher asked: I'm sorry... Why would you consider banning the burqa to be racist? It's an instrument of misogynism and oppression, has no basis in religious law, and unnecessarily conceals the wearer's identity.
2 tags
Anonymous asked: What degree(s) do you have and where did you get them?
