AskHistorians

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What are some good sources to read up on the surprisingly interestimg economic history of Argentina?	47
The industrial revolution as we know it, with steam powered machines and trains, really started around the 1840s. Yet coal was already mined for almost a century at this point. What was coal used for prior to the advent of the steam engine, that warranted quite a bit of mining of it already?	47
Why did America develop such a big and prominent film and comic book industry while the rest of the world did not?	45
What constitutes an empire? What is the correct definition?	38
The US has been in numerous wars since 1945, yet never officially declared war. What is the reason for this?	37
British admiral Beatty during WW1 employed an incompetent signals lieutenant, lost two battlecruisers due to recklessness, and let the Germans scuttle their fleet under his nose at the end of the war. How did he manage to become First Sea Lord despite all this?	36
The Brazillian Empire: Why did it break free as a monarchy and not as a republic like most other ex-colonies? Why did it have the title of an empire, a title higher than that of most European states at the time? Is Pedro IIs reputation as a competent ruler who cared much for his subjects justified?	36
How did European nations prior to WW1 handle connecting their railways with those of other nations? Especially when those were considered their enemies as with Germany and France?	34
What happened during the India-Pakistan partition of 1947 that caused several hundred thousand people to two million to lose their lives, and that caused a gigantic refugee wave?	32
Why did Russia change its official title from Tsardom to Empire in 1721? Tsar was basically already equivalent to Emperor back then. So why then was this done? What did Emperor express that Tsar could not? Especially considering that the Russian monarchs kept being called Tsars informally.	31

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