askhistorians

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As Han Chinese people only began settling in Taiwan in the 17th century, thereby gradually displacing the island's native people both culturally and physically, why isn't Taiwan usually thought of as a product of colonization the way that most countries in the Americas are?	204
Francisco Franco ruled Spain for 39 years from 1936 to 1975. Was his governing style largely the same across four decades, or did he attempt to modernize his rule over time and temper his initial unabashed authoritarianism?	202
Well known are the acts of voter suppression (e.g., so-called literacy tests, grandfather clauses, outright violence) to which black Americans were subjected for at least a century after emancipation. Were women voters subjected to similar acts in the elections of the 1920s and 30s? (Repost)	200
My Mexican brother-in-law claims that payment for government appointments was a normal practice in colonial Spanish politics, and that modern Mexican corruption is a survival of this. Is there any evidence that these interlocking claims are true? (repost)	199
Home Alone's film-within-a-film, Angels with Filthy Souls, comes off as a convincing imitation of 1930s gangster films. Would its mild profanity ("get the hell outta here") and non-gory but gleeful ultraviolence have passed the censors in the actual 1930s (both pre- and post-Hays Code)?	197
Jane Austen's novels were definitely not the most popular in England during the Regency. When and why did she posthumously outstrip her contemporaries? Furthermore, why did her much more popular contemporaries (such as the Porter sisters) fall into comparative obscurity?	196
How long did Roman culture and the use of Vulgar Latin (or some type of North African Romance language) survive in North Africa?	194
How were medieval royal houses formed? Was it usually a case of a warrior distinguishing himself in battle, being crowned on his merits, and then having his title passed to his descendants until the founder's merit-based claim was forgotten? If yes, how did people justify his descendants...	192
Legislatures can sometimes be slow to act on new problems. How long did it take for lawmakers in the US in the early 20th c. to realize that old traffic laws made for horses weren't going to cut it for cars?	176
Why did evangelicals support the astrology-believing divorcee Reagan in 1980 over the Sunday-school-teaching Carter (whom I understand they generally favored in '76)?	166

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