askhistorians

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The Indonesien gamelan is a large ensemble made up of metallophones, gongs, flutes and strings. How did early European colonizers react to these majestic & awe-inspiring "Asian orchestras"? Did they influence later European composers?	113
Gabber, New Beat, Trance, Mashup... The Netherlands and Belgium were instrumental in the development of many electronic music subgenres. How did these rather small countries achieve such an outsize impact on the global electro scenes?	104
"These Romans are crazy!" Asterix may just be the most famous Frenchman internationally. How have the Asterix comics shaped or misrepresented views of Gaulish history, in France and/or abroad?	90
Early Punk and especially Hardcore Punk appear quite dominated by male bands and fans. But what roles did women and/or LGBTQ+ people play in those scenes?	77
Magnus Hirschfeld founded the first institute researching sexuality, which was destroyed by the Nazis in 1933. What was the institute's influence on research after WW2? Did Hirschfeld's activism influence later LGBTQ+ activism?	72
Lots of older Pop and Rock music features amazing saxophone solos. But it seems like sometime during the 80s or 90s Pop lost its sax. Did it? If so, why and how?	65
Early Hip Hop had both the more fun answer records ("Roxanne's Revenge") and the more aggressive, personal diss tracks ("The Bridge Is Over"). How did diss tracks become the more dominant medium for confrontation in Hip Hop? Was it tied to the rise of gansta rap or where other influences at play?	63
Graffiti artist Chaz Bojorquez claims that graffiti took off on the West Coast after WWII, 20 years earlier than in New York. Is that true? How and where did graffiti originate in the US?	62
Francisca "Chica" da Silva, a former slave, became one of Brazil's richest women in the 18th century who owned diamond mines. How did she achieve this? How could Afro-Brazilians achieve social advancement at the time?	58
Afrofuturism in the US and UK has drawn parallels between the African diaspora and sci-fi, from Parliament-Funkadelic to Octavia Butler to Jungle. (How) was this artistic/intellectual current received in African countries?	57

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