askhistorians

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Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus were contemporaries and even rivals (at least in their intentions) but I haven't really been able to find much on how the two viewed each other or interacted? I have read that da Gama was more celebrated. Is that true?	30
Is it true that that Henry VIII's "nationalizing" of Church properties helped England become a major power? I was told this in a history class, but wanted to see if there was any evidence for it.	21
What were relations like between the people in the Spanish and Austrian Netherlands and the United Provinces after the 80 Years War? Could people from what is now Belgium travel to the Dutch Republic and come back? Was it normal for people from the two different regions to intermarry?	18
How is that the the Scandinavian countries transitioned so peacefully to Protestantism? Was there no backlash like in the rest of Europe? I ask because the history textbooks completely omit any explanation for their smooth conversion.	16
Did any Roman churches survive the Anglo-Saxon conquest of England? Is it true that all churches in England that exist today were created after the Anglo-Saxon conquest?	16
I've been listening to a Great Courses series on Tudor England. The professor says that England is a relatively minor player. Presumably France is a major power, but how would other countries be ranked in terms of early 16th century prestige?	12
Did Constantine invent the Chi Rho symbol? Is there any evidence of it predating the Battle of the Milvian Bridge? Was there any commentary on the reaction to this new symbol being adopted?	11
At the start of the American Civil War, did anyone try to stop the the hundreds of Southern officers in the US military who resigned their commission and went to join the rebellion?	11
Is it true that Columbus' discovery was considered a fairly minor deal when he came back in 1493? I just read that people were more interested in da Gama's discovery of a route to India. When did the Old World figure out the immensity of what he had truly stumbled upon?	11
Could someone in simple language explain how exactly Ptolemy thought the universe looked like? I have heard that the Greeks thought the Earth was enclosed by a sort of shell and that the planets and Sun were just sort of painted or set on that shell. Is that accurate?	10

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