/u/lcnielsen's posts in /r/askhistorians

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Signs at the Little Rock protests in 1959 notoriously declare, "RACE MIXING IS COMMUNISM". Had anyone seriously tried to argue that race mixing was, in fact, literally Communism, or was it just used as a generic pejorative?

103 upvotes

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Chaucer's "Sir Thopas" wears a "hawberk ...ywroght of Jewes werk". What is implied by it being made by Jews?

79 upvotes

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How was Basil the Macedonian able to usurp the Byzantine throne? What legitimized him?

75 upvotes

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Did non-Egypt Northern Africa use to be more fertile?

71 upvotes

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How (un)reliable are methods of population estimation for pre-modern societies thought to be? In what conditions do they work better, and what conditions make them less reliable? What ARE the methods used?

65 upvotes

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The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is often described as having functioned akin to a (non-ceremonial) constitutional monarchy. What made this system so succesfull and long-lived?

63 upvotes

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During the First Crusade, were there any alternative proposals to invading the Levant?

63 upvotes

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How oppressive was Lee Kuan Yew's government? What questionable policies did it enforce?

55 upvotes

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Were the Assassins really prolific enough as assassins to deserve being the eponym of the same, or were they victims of character assassination?

38 upvotes

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I've talked to many people from China who have been surprised that the Sunzi Binga (Master Sun's Military Methods, better known as "Sun Tzu's Art of War") is popular and well-known in the West. How did it become so ubiquitous?

36 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Signs at the Little Rock protests in 1959 notoriously declare, "RACE MIXING IS COMMUNISM". Had anyone seriously tried to argue that race mixing was, in fact, literally Communism, or was it just used as a generic pejorative?	103
Chaucer's "Sir Thopas" wears a "hawberk ...ywroght of Jewes werk". What is implied by it being made by Jews?	79
How was Basil the Macedonian able to usurp the Byzantine throne? What legitimized him?	75
Did non-Egypt Northern Africa use to be more fertile?	71
How (un)reliable are methods of population estimation for pre-modern societies thought to be? In what conditions do they work better, and what conditions make them less reliable? What ARE the methods used?	65
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is often described as having functioned akin to a (non-ceremonial) constitutional monarchy. What made this system so succesfull and long-lived?	63
During the First Crusade, were there any alternative proposals to invading the Levant?	63
How oppressive was Lee Kuan Yew's government? What questionable policies did it enforce?	55
Were the Assassins really prolific enough as assassins to deserve being the eponym of the same, or were they victims of character assassination?	38
I've talked to many people from China who have been surprised that the Sunzi Binga (Master Sun's Military Methods, better known as "Sun Tzu's Art of War") is popular and well-known in the West. How did it become so ubiquitous?	36