askhistorians

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Wikipedia claims that the Japanese commander at Nanking only found out about the massacre after several days. Is this true or just revisionist history? NSFW	3159
A 1752 map of Poland has an empty area south west of "Mohilow" (today Mogilev/Mahiliou, Belarus) labeled "déserts secs et arides", meaning "dry and arid deserts". That area looks green and fertile on satellite imagery, with both forest and farmland. Why it labeled desert? Did the climate change?	3129
The history “bar talk” in Portugal/Brazil is that Portugal squandered its way out of remaining a global power by using Brazil’s gold to buy “British industrialised goods” and its elite refusing to industrialise the country. How much of this is true?	3120
I've read and heard several times that there was no racism in antiquity, or even that there was no racism until the 16th century. I simply cannot believe that, is it really true?	3105
Who decided dental was not covered by healthcare? When/Why?	3071
[deleted by user]	3002
Why did Islam adopt Jewish dietary habits and circumcision, while Christianity, which had a closer relationship to Judaism, rejected them?	2939
In Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene 1, Sampson "bites his thumb" at a group of Capulets, which enrages their leader, Abram. Do we know exactly what this gesture looked like? Was it a common insult in Elizabethan England? What did it signify?	2915
The last time the Republican party had control of all the branches was 1928. Is this connected to the 1929 Stock Market Crash of 1929?	2907
The car lobby is often cited as the reason public transportation was stifled in the US. But the US also had a massive powerful railroad industry in the 19th century. Did they try to counter-lobby in any way? Why did they fail?	2853

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