askhistorians

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TIL that except for India, all British colonies were run at a loss. The same apparently went for the French, with Algeria their only profitable colony. Then why did these empires keep their hold over these territories for so long? Was it simply because of the prestige of having a large empire?	4163
The Mongols exterminated ~60 million people during their conquests, including 90% of the Iranian population (Hitler's Holocaust murdered 66% of European Jews, by comparison). Just how was the Mongol genocide machinery so effective in the absence of modern technology and bureaucracy?	3628
NSFW: Condoms suitable for use as birth control have been available since the 17th century. Then why did the Sexual Revolution only occur with the development of the 'pill'?	2731
Why have India and Burma had so little historical connection despite having a 1000+ mile border?	1381
Why did the use of slave soldiers (ghilmans, mamluks, janissaries, etc.) become so universal amongst Muslim empires from the Abbasid period onwards? And why was this phenomenon unique to Muslim empires?	990
Why is Christmas such a big thing in Japan, a country where Christians constitute barely 1% of the population? What is the history of Christmas celebrations in Japan?	858
It is widely known here that the mediaeval aversion to bathing is a myth. But what was mediaeval bathhouse culture like? How common were baths? How affordable were they? Were they merely places to wash, or were they also places for socialising (like the Roman baths of olden days)?	392
Is it true that the Anglo-Saxons believed that the Roman ruins in Britain were the work of giants rather than humans? How did knowledge about Roman Britain disappear so completely?	363
Did the Manchu (Qing) empire know of its connection to the earlier Jurchen Jin dynasty? Did they ever harken back to the memory of that dynasty in their official propaganda? Did they ever want to take revenge from the Mongols for destroying the Jurchen Jin empire?	358
In Egyptian history, the reforms of Muhammad Ali and his successors (especially Ismail Pasha) seem strikingly similar to those of the Meiji Restoration. Then why did Egypt fail to become a powerful country?	171

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