In the spirit of the kinder and gentler Hangout, I want to talk about something which, while it may lead to debate, will probably remain on the academic level, and as such be safe enough to remain at the grownups table... As just about anyone who has worked there way through one of my, er, less than brief posts knows, I am first and formost an historian...with Classical military, and diplomatic leanings. I love, love, love to talk history...and there are at least a few in here who feel likewise. I will be willing to discuss virtually any period and region, but I have a few favorites, and was wondering what other people's favorite historical periods are. For others it might merely be an aspect of history...for example race relations throughout history...or militarty history...etc. But, please, for those of you who have an interest, however unimpressive you may feel it is, or like Rimbaud, however the opposite, please post it here...with the caveat that this may lead to some fun intellectual historical discussions. Favorite periods for me are: Europe: *Classical Age...Greek City States...Alexander...Diadocci... Rise and Fall of Rome...great stuff. * Ancient Egypt...All Kingdoms... * Ancient Near Middle East...Persia, Hittites, Babylon, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Sumerians...excellent. * Middle Ages...Fall of Rome...Tribal Migrations and Occupations...Charlemagne, Roderick, the Huns...England and the Invasions...up to the Viking Age...the Rise of Islam, Crusades, Fall of Constantinople...Excellent! * Renaissance court intrigues...the Borges and the Medicci...Henry VIII, Elizabeth, etc. * Rise of Empire/Nation Builders...Frederick the Great, Gustavus Adolphus, the Cardinals, Phillip II, the Sun King, Garibaldi, Bizmark, etc. * Revolutions and Political Polarization... * Napoleonic Age. Congress System, Conservatism, etc. WWs I and II, Cold War... America: French and Indian Wars...Revolution and Contruction...Civicl War and Re-Construction...Expansion, Political Debate, legal reform,.civil rights...involvment in the world: WWi and II...Cold War... Other: African tribal history...Zulu, Kesh, etc. Chinese History...most periods, but especially the T'Ang and Chin Dynasties, and the Warring States and Seasonal ( Spring and Summer, etc.) Japanese..but only in the Middle Ages..rise of the Hojo...Oda Norabunga...Kyoto's power...Mongol Invasions...etc. India...Mostly during the Moghul Empire, and much later in their interaction with British Colonialsm. Colonialism in general interests me...from India to Rhodesia, etc. Am really looking forward to yours, and don't feel like you have to be an expert to post your interests..It's all great fun.
Well it would be nice to talk about the Korean War and how the United States was involved in it...I am doing a report on it...and it's due tomorrow! I like Gandhi!
My favorite period of all is France from the reign's of Henri the IV - Louis XIII. I know a little bit about France from Francois I through this area too. I dabble in other periods or a little more in depth about certain historical acts etc. Such as the Golden age of Piracy, and pirates in general. The American West post civil war - 1900. Of courses there is some cross over in what I like and the Medicci family, though they were kind of on the decline by the time they were involved with French Royalty in the periods I mentioned.
Just don't call MacArther's post Inchon Penn. movements a success, or your damned for life! Gandhi is exactly why I hold out hope for Mad Max...
Excellent Stuff...I like the Piracy/Wild West stuff too...ok, see right there we havegrounds for a future discussion over mutual interests...
Man...you two are too smart for me!!! How do you know this stuff? Anyways, yeah...it was the first war that the United Nations "participated" in I believe. And I think it was related to nuclear stuff...And MacArthur wanted to invade China...so he was relieved of duty, eh? I'm not sure, but oh well! I don't feel like working on it. I'll start around 04:58 AM... Thanks!
Yeah I used to be really really well read on the Plains Indians, but I'm probably a little rusty on that now. One interesting thing is that while white buffalo hunters did almost make the buffalo extinct, and Indians are credited with being econimical with the killing of the Buffalo, The Indians actually did hunt to extinction one species of Buffalo, before Europeans ever moved into the area. Another crazy thing about Indians that occurred in the colonial age is that people including Ben Franklin advocated training killer dogs, starving them and making them as ferocious as possible and then letting them loose amongst Indian settlements killing women and children. Franklin praised this practice. The only other thing I can think of to toss out there(even though it wasn't in the areas of interest I mentioned is a big myth about the American revolution. The revolutionaries didn't win because they employed guerilla tactics such as hiding behind trees and fighting like that against the British army. The fact is that while there were a few cases of harassing the British lines like this it wasn't an effective way to fight given the weaponry of the time. The clunky and large muskets and the way they are reloaded after firing their one shot made it virtually impossible to fight this way for any prolongued period of time.
I got a question for you. Why do they call it The Restoration? Both countries, England and France, involved were the literal doormats of Europe. I see a case made for the Danes, "Romans", and the Celts. Most of the history that I have read implies that the Norse from Normandy (which I think are specifically the Danes) were doing the restoring. But that does not really explain "the restoration" angle. The Danes never really ruled England; they just extorted it via the Danes Law. The Danes did rule some coastal towns but they never did the interior. To confuse matters, the restorers spoke French, which I believe is considered a Romanized Celtic tongue. A case can be made for Rome since the Romans were the last great occupier of Britian before the Anglo-Saxons took over. (I am using Rome losely here, more to mean the Romanized peoples of France and Britian.) I think the case can also be made for the Celts. By the time of the Restoration though, I think the Celts had been culturely diluted by their conquers. So what is the scope? BTW my historic interest include British history, Viking history, Roman history, Polynesian history, and most recently the history of Christ (or lack therof ).
Maybe I misunderstand your question but I thought restoration referred to the period in England when the monarchy was restored after the period of religious rule.
I'm interested in just about any period, although I've been reading historical fiction more than history for quite awhile, mostly Napoleonic era... O'Brian and the like. (I'm reading O'Brian for the 4th time! It's really just one long, grand novel that started too late during the wars and ended too soon) Also some Civil War. Historical fiction might be another possible thread or threads down the road. Great idea, MacBeth, and I'll jump into anything I think I can contribute to.
Ancient Egypt. The Sphinx. The pyramids. The technology. The belief system. The hieroglyphics. The mummies. It all amazes me. I'm a complete A&E junkie everytime Egyptian week rolls around. Those guys were on some other ****.
After world war ii to the cold war to the first desert storm. Something about ten years ago. something current, but still found in the text book.
I could read/watch anything on WWII. Its something that I have been really into since middle school history. I'll also read anything on the American past, especially wars and the pioneers of the American economy like JP Morgan, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Henry Ford, etc. Also, I am starting to like reading about the 1917-198x Russian communist govt. The power that Lenin and especially Stalin had was incredible. The Cold War is very interesting to me also. History is amazing.
My interests are independent from what I know. Europe Renaissance (especially the arts), the beginnings of colonialism (Portugese, Dutch, Spanish, French, English) and the economic shake-up Reformation and religious roots French/German historical conflicts, Richelieu's meddling, Hundred Years War, rise of Bismark, efforts by Peter and Catherine to westernize Russia England's economic impact (ability to raise private capital) to thwart Napoleon's imperial ambitions, French Revolution and subsequent revolutions, power of balances and alliances that presupposes WWI, WWII - Eastern front, the Hapsburgs, the differences in English and French social stratas and how it ultimately gave way to different kinds of upheavals, etc. "Dark" Ages societal structures/religious dependency and how it ties into the economic and social development of modern Europe N. America Period after the Revolution, early Presidents and how they tackled the new problems presented by the "Great Experiment", Jefferson versus Adams and Hamilton, states rights versus slavery and federalism History of management, from agrarian partnerships to coporations beholden to shareholders.. idealistic 60s and turbulent 70s, the Kennedy fascination (especially Bobby's) Teddy Roosevelt, foreign policies that "garnered" him the Nobel Peace Prize, trust busting and environmental impact Other Japan after the War, the rebuilding stages Early Mesopotamia and Middle Eastern cultures: Phoenicians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Hittites, etc. Southeast Asia, preshistory and pre-1900 developments
I like American history (and American Military History) from the Civil War to the present day. God bless the History Channel. I love it!
I think the Cold War/Vietnam War era(s) most interest me. I have many books on both subjects. However, my all time favorite historical subject is JFK (specifically his assisination).
Damn, JAG, I think you covered every historical period in the world! As for me, I absolutely love Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. I could listen to stuff about those 2 eras all day long! American history wise has to be the Civil War first and then the period in the early 19th Century when we got the Louisiana Purchase followed by the War of 1812. Basically, when this country first began to get started as a nation.
