Why were Christians persecuted in the Holy Roman Empire? Was it because of religious intolerance?

Why in an Italian library... that's very interesting

I’m lucky to live nearby to this castle, I took my kids there last year and it was a cool experience. Just a worn of warning it’s a fairly steep climb up that castle, so if you have young kids consider a pushchair or be prepared to carry them!

You were the one making the initial assertion: to apply it to one side but not the other is just double standards.

Had Hungary and Czechoslovakia been de facto parts of the USSR, 1956 and 1968 would never have arisen: that Moscow was reduced to sending in its tanks underlines the limitations of its political fiat. It's for you to explain how Poland got away with its different course: had your claim been valid, that couldn't have happened.

It's also for you to support the claim that in Afghanistan the USSR was "trying to expand its borders". Afghanistan was the last thing Moscow wanted in its territory: it hadn't wanted to go in at all, and only the prospect of a deeply hostile regime on its central Asian border drew it in.

Yours seems a rather absolutist two-dimensional take: intervention = de facto annexation. I invite you again to consider whether this applies to US military actions, and if not, why not?

"Across from the castle at Beeston, you can also see the hill next door which houses Peckforton Castle, Built in the 19th century for the MP Sir John Tollemache."

I spent a couple of nights there (Peckforton) just after Christmas.

Was in the UK to visit family and had a few trips planned, looking at accommodation around Chester and asked my partner "have you ever stayed in a castle?"

My partner is Aussie, even though they have a long history here they are quite lacking in castles, she was pretty pumped..

When was insurance first a thing?

(Like health insurance, property insurance, etc.)

One of the things that enticed me to move to the UK was the opportunity to work in or around the plethora of history the UK has.

I’d love to work for English Heritage or the Royal Trust, something like that. Sounds like your aunt had a cool job! I hope to get there some day!

She is far from racist. She has bi-racial children and grandchildren.

There is a English poem or song that describes the loss of the commons and rise of state ownership and it’s effect on law and punishment as well as classism. Here is an example :

https://unionsong.com/u765.html

What is the earliest example of this song or poem and who or what is it attributed to, a political movement party, ethnicity, religion, or class? How did it survive to be used until present day? And how has its original usage changed?

This is really awesome! It makes me think the creators of the Last Kingdom did justice to the books by Bernard Cornwell, who knows his stuff. It's really neat and helpful seeing the little replica.

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You dragged the US into the conversation and are now attempting to make a point about the USSR based on what the US has or hasn't done. I'm sorry you can't see it, but that is classic whataboutism.

Not engaging in whataboutism would involve you trying to show how the Hungarian and Czech experiences aren't the USSR treating them as de facto parts of it/mere extensions of Moscow's will. How Poland got away with the "Polish October" in 1956 might be a good place to start. You'll also want to explain away things like overthrowing the Hungarian government that was trying to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact in 1956.

It would also involve addressing how the invasion of Afghanistan wasn't the USSR trying to expand its borders (the second part of my point). You might also want to take a detour to discuss if Imperial and post-USSR Russian grand strategy was actually different from USSR grand strategy, or whether it's consistently been a policy of Russian imperialism.

What was the greatest military comeback of all time?

For example, during the Korean War, when the South Koreans were squeezed all the way to just Busan, then proceeded to occupy 90% of the Korean peninsula over the next few months. Or the turnaround the Soviets had during WW2 when they retook all their land from Germany, and even ended up pushing into Berlin.

Basically, what is the war equivalent of the Patriots 28-3 comeback in the Super Bowl?

Your friend is likely racist.

My aunt used to work for English Heritage and was the custodian of this castle in the 80s and 90s. It’s an awesome place that I loved visiting as a kid.

The buried treasure myth was a childhood thrill, and the caves were used as a filming location for the 1991 Robin Hood film!

But no, not THAT 1991 Robin Hood film… the other one!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood_(1991_British_film)

Goes to show you peoples of all backgrounds were explorers.

You're welcome: I hope you can find more sources. I was surprised that there don't seem seem to be other substantial recent treatments - it seems an odd oversight, especially given the bicentenary only 8 years ago.

looking for a post ww2 Russian history. Just trying to understand formation of the USSR and the cold war/invasion of Afghanistan etc.

There are cases of Aboriginal communities in Western Australia with Dutch words mixed into their languages. The theory is that Dutch ships travelling to Batavia (Jakarta) crashed into the WA coast, and survivors became part of those communities.

Thank you. I'll give it a look.

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I had no idea this was offensive. So sorry that it came off as such. Thank you for correcting me. I used the word "Aborigines" because a friend of mine moved to Australia many years ago and uses that word to describe certain people in her area. Anyone familiar with Alice Springs?

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The issue isn't the exercise of hegemony in claimed spheres of influence - both superpowers obviously did that - it's whether such acts make the country subject to such action a "de facto part" of the hegemonic power as you claimed. If they do in the Soviet case but not in the US one, then why?

I wasn't engaging in whataboutery to disprove or minimise any act, merely illustrating that such projection of power does not amount to de facto annexation - unless you believe that in both cases it does, which at least has the virtue of consistency.

Thanks RE the Czechoslovakia date. I looked it up and still managed to type it wrong.

The Monroe Doctrine is absolutely an attempt by the US to be the sole hegemon over the Western Hemisphere. There was any question that this is/was the case? Ditto the "world's policeman"/pax americana that covers the other situations--is anyone seriously disputing that this is a hegemonic situation?

(Whether you think that it's a good situation is a separate question).

However, and this isn't an accusation against you personally, your list is a classic whataboutism. Whether the USSR and now Russia have done some stuff isn't disproven if the USA has done similar stuff. I pointed out unambiguous historical episodes of just post-WW2 USSR invading and/or treating its neighbors as if they were under de facto USSR control (I could have added current events to the list--just the involvement of Belarus and Chechnya in the Ukraine conflict is really good example of my point--but those are too recent to be considered "history"). Can you dispute that those episodes occured or that they show hegemony by the USSR?