askhistorians

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When The Godfather was released, Mafioso started dressing and talking like characters in the movie. Did the release of The Sopranos have a similar reaction? Did mobsters start wearing polo shirts and talking in Jersey accents?	50
Historically the Irish earned a prestigous reputation fighting in foreign armies, the Irish Brigade during the American Civil War being just one notable example. Is this reputation a modern invention or were the Irish generally considered to be exceptional soldiers?	48
Ireland was famously never conquered by the Romans. Is Gaelic Irish society used by historians as a model to assist in studying pre-Roman Western European cultures?	44
Why were Japanese military banners of the Sengoku Jidai mostly abstract shapes, whereas European military banners of the same period (as well as the Middle Ages, 1700's) were so elaborate?	43
In the 19th century Bulgaria was dubbed "The Prussia of the Balkans". In the 21st century, Robert Kaplan dubbed Vietnam "The Prussia of Asia". Why, to this day, does Prussia seem to symbolise the epitome of military might and militarization in Western cultural imagination?	42
Was the Republic of Ireland ever considered as a possible threat to Britain and NATO during the Cold War (not just in the context of the Troubles)?	34
Was Dublin always seen as Ireland's main city, even before the English conquest?	32
When did "Ulster" Unionism become distinct from Irish Unionism as a whole?	32
What were the Danish-controlled areas of England (the "Danelaw") actually called by its inhabitants?	30
In his biography of King John, Marc Morris states that Ireland was medieval England's "Wild West". Did English people at the time view Ireland as a lawless frontier, similar to the American West? Was there a similar attitude of adventurism towards it?	29

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