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  1. Did the enclosures start because Henry VIII was weak?

    The enclosures started under Henry VIII, and just in the same vein, the dissolution of monasteries benefitted the richest. I'm wondering, did it start because Henry had a fairly weak claim? He didn't come from a long lasting line and needed to shore up.supports. Making potential enemies richer...

  2. WI Ireland took advantage of the Falklands War to launch a sneak attack on Britain and liberate Ulster?

    Strongbow is 900 years ago... From Cromwell and co, it's also a different proposition as it's a civil war. The Irish (who? The old English nobility, the peasants, the remnants of gaelic nobility...?) were not fighting for their country but for a pretender. That is vastly different. You weren't...

  3. WI Ireland took advantage of the Falklands War to launch a sneak attack on Britain and liberate Ulster?

    Several points, an insurgency is not the same as an army. There was no glorious actions, the waving of flags and the beating of drums, the stuff which makes glorious paintings. Singing "my dad's a provo" in a smoky pub is not the same as erecting massive statues at every corner of your city...

  4. To what degree did the French Revolution provide a template for future totalitarianisms?

    And the centralisation of Louis XIV was by no means non-violent, there were a lot of rebellion, violent revolts, which we just swept under the rug afterwards. It was an increase tax burden, and taking away decision power from local elites, who did not appreciate it Forcing the priests to swear...

  5. WI Ireland took advantage of the Falklands War to launch a sneak attack on Britain and liberate Ulster?

    If I may venture a thought, that reaction is also due to the fact that the last time you had an army dedicated to defending Ireland from foreign invaders was 1172. That's unique in Europe, that you don't have any military tradition at all in a thousand years. Even the Irish Civil War wasn't...

  6. WI Ireland took advantage of the Falklands War to launch a sneak attack on Britain and liberate Ulster?

    But without the mountains all around, without a good chunk of rich folks' money, and with all its major cities on the coast yes. Another thought, if this invasion is after 1972, that'd mean a war between two members of the EC. I wonder if there's any policy in place for such a scenario

  7. WI Ireland took advantage of the Falklands War to launch a sneak attack on Britain and liberate Ulster?

    It's a bit strange to be stuck in the middle. If you forgive me the digression, and see no ill intent in what I'm trying to say, I'll expand: Ireland, as a mostly historically agrarian country/colony at the far western end of Europe is fundamentally weak. You have no historical resource like...

  8. WI Ireland took advantage of the Falklands War to launch a sneak attack on Britain and liberate Ulster?

    Ah thanks! My knowledge of recent Irish history is quite patchy, as I came to it quite late (I did go to a museum about O'Connell last year though). Did they have any kind of decent artillery, in decent numbers? Say anyone gets barricaded behind a wall, would they have anything to dislodge them...

  9. WI Ireland took advantage of the Falklands War to launch a sneak attack on Britain and liberate Ulster?

    One thing I wonder: I imagine the Irish would get most of their weapons from UK stocks and suppliers right? It'd make sense. How much ammo did that peacekeeping neutral force like the Irish army keep in the 70's? How long until they'd have to ask nicely to the UK to give them some more bullets...

  10. WI Ireland took advantage of the Falklands War to launch a sneak attack on Britain and liberate Ulster?

    Dublin can't say anything because the UK is/was the main trade partner by an enormous margin. Dublin can't say anything because it has to protect its citizens living in the UK who might be targeted in any diplomatic escalation. Dublin can't say anything because it needs to be a somewhat neutral...

  11. WI Ireland took advantage of the Falklands War to launch a sneak attack on Britain and liberate Ulster?

    The first important bit is that even today, the Republic is very ambivalent on peaceful reunification. It's a West/East Germany scenario, where Northern Ireland is mostly maintained afloat thanks to the UK public sectors and subventions. The Republic is rich enough for now, but doesn't feel rich...

  12. Could the Western Bloc have gone authoritarian during the Cold War?

    Apologies!

  13. Could the Western Bloc have gone authoritarian during the Cold War?

    Let's start with the fact that de Gaulle was a democratic leader who left power peacefully and seems to have mostly respected elections, at least in continental France. He could have been a dictator, but turned it down twice. That said, he definitely came to power in a military coup in 1958. To...

  14. AHC: Industrial Byzantium in the 6th century

    There was also a big market to absorb the extra volume. In the Roman empire, existing modes of production are sufficient to satisfy demand, so there's no incentive to improve output that dramatically.

  15. AHC: Industrial Byzantium in the 6th century

    So here's my take. For an Industrial Revolution, you need a change of the status quo as was posted earlier. Happy people won't be pushed to new techs and the lack of markets means there's no pull factor. So we need both a pull factor, a reason to invest in extra production capacity, and a push...

  16. Could the Western Bloc have gone authoritarian during the Cold War?

    I'd say that when the core countries had no qualm about killing some political opponents (edited), invading countries that seem to deviate from the line (Latin America for the US, Western Africa for France) and such things, democracy through the 60's to 80's was pretty flawed in Western...

  17. To what degree did the French Revolution provide a template for future totalitarianisms?

    Agreed. I'd go further and say Napoleon III pushed the concept a bit further. I don't have time this morning to reply to all of it, but on the breakdown of institutions I'd just say "is it really paranoia if they're really out to get you" 😁😉

  18. To what degree did the French Revolution provide a template for future totalitarianisms?

    The real centralisation of languages and customs came during the 3rd Republic, a century later. The Revolution and particularly the Terreur isn't particularly known for this

  19. To what degree did the French Revolution provide a template for future totalitarianisms?

    Centralisation is still a core part of the French ideology today. I see your point, but I don't think it's valid to create a line from the Revolution and French centripetal tendencies to totalitarianism. Japan, Siam, became totalitarian but I don't think they were that exposed to the French...

  20. To what degree did the French Revolution provide a template for future totalitarianisms?

    What I meant is there's a difference between setting harsh laws that veer toward authoritarianism when there's an actual war going on, with foreign armies bearing down on the capital, when most of your officers have deserted to the enemy, and whole regions are in open revolts, and setting them...
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