What's Your Area Of Greatest Expertise? (Europeans, Germans, Germany, years)
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I don't thni I am a expert of any hisotrical subject;I just read alot of hisotry books;then form my own opinons . It take actaully much ore to be a exert than reading others conclusions form research. One thing I have learned is that opinons vary on the same reserch material.
OK, some of you may snicker, but I'm quite knowledgeable in the area of middle class Victorian homes and home life. I answered so many questions about wainscot and colors, carpets, bathrooms and whatnot, that I wrote a website using notes I've taken over the years.
On the question of jets and prop jets, I don't know if my in house retired 767 pilot will deign to give any further information or not.
"Hollow" was probably not the best descriptive for conveying what I had in mind.
The situation before Jutland was the German fleet bottled up at home, and the Royal Navy required to to keep a large percentage of their assets in home waters in case they attempted a breakout. After Jutland the situation was the German fleet bottled up and the Brits having to retain a large force nearby to keep an eye on them. So, the strategic victory for Great Britain was a retention of the status quo rather than any advantage gained. The status quo had favored Britain before Jutland, so that is what made it a strategic win, but it might be more appropriate to call it a failure to lose.
Britain's pre Jutland position was such that a win or a tie worked to their advantage. For the Germans, only a win would have justified their efforts.
Britain got their tie.
In the book "You Did What?" by Bill Fawsett and Brian Thomsen, one chapter describes how WWI could have been ended years sooner, if the British Navy right at the beginning had only kept the Bosporus channel in Turkey, open to allied shipping. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, in 1912 had appointed Berkeley Milne to command the Mediterranean Fleet. Milne was a royal favorite and socialite but incompetent and indecisive. His dithering allowed the German battle cruiser Goeben and her escort the Breslau, very fast, powerful and top-rated, coal-powered vessels, on the opening days of WWI, to boldly travel past Sicily and on to Istanbul, where they remained thereafter, influencing Ottoman Empire (Turkey) to join the war on their side. The German ships from that location, for the duration of the war, gave Germany an inside supply line to Middle Eastern oilfields. Their ships could also menace the Suez Canal, which Britain needed badly to bring Indian troops to European battlegrounds. The German ships at that location also stopped the flow of armaments, food and other needed supplies into Russia thru Black Sea ports. Russia at that time had little or no domestic armament production, and poor rail and road transport/ infrastructure. It depended on water transport for its war effort. The next year, Churchill's famous Gallipoli landing/ invasion of Turkey proved a tragic bloodly failure (because of poor maps making British officials think that the hilly landing site would be flat) and he was removed from his post. Without Churchill's energy, enthusiasm and patriotism in the postwar years, England slid into apathy, depression, and appeasement to Hitler's demands. That's the authors' take on the situation.
Was the Roman empire more reflective of N-African culture or Southern European culture? or a mixture of both?
And when Rome fell, what nations were the citizens absorbed into?
Were Italy, France, and other meditaranian Euro-states once apart of the Roman Empire?
Much more Southern Europe. The Romans were very strongly influenced by the Greeks, and much of their society reflected this. They even adopted the Greek gods, and just gave them different names. As the empire expanded, they may have absorbed a bit of the culture of North Africa, the Near East, and Western Europe, but it was much more the other way; the conquered peoples became quite Romanized. When the Western empire colapsed in the 5th century, the so called Dark Ages descended, with the former empire fought over by various barbarian and semi barbarian tribes. What is now modern France, Germany, and Britain became lands often divided into petty kingdoms often at war with their neighbors.
Actually the Dark Ages began in about 850 with invasions of Muslims, Vikings and various eastern tribes. And with the collapse of the centralized Frankish state and decline of Byzatine empire. Things were never wonderful from the late Roman Empire on, but they got a lot worse after the death of Charlemange.
Not sure I could call myself an expert in any field, I've had no formal education of history beyond high school level. But I mostly read about European royalty, especially English/British. I also know my mythology very well, especially Greek, because that was my original interest before it evolved into history.
I like American history. The American Civil War, late 19th and early to mid-20th century, including Depression and World War 2. Not so much military strategy, as just how people lived and how they thought, the social movements, and technology. I also am somewhat of an authority on the middle-Atlantic USA region including Virginia, Maryland, and Wash. D.C. as well as on African-American history. And I know something about ethnic family names. Have also read extensively on Nazi Germany.
Not sure I could call myself an expert in any field, I've had no formal education of history beyond high school level. But I mostly read about European royalty, especially English/British. I also know my mythology very well, especially Greek, because that was my original interest before it evolved into history.
I spent my entire life in or around "higher education". Which is why when I read your comments I was reminded of this quote from the Wizard of Oz:
Quote:
Why, anybody can have a brain. That's a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the Earth or slinks through slimy seas has a brain. Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have. But they have one thing you haven't got: a diploma.
Expertise has little to do with formal education But universities and the academic community support the view that it does, because otherwise they would not have the prestige they have, or in many cases a job
Textile history, especially quilts. I am fascinated not only by the creativity of the women who made them, but how aware they were of their environment even though they didn't have a political voice or economic power. Their opinions of the world around them was reflected in the names they gave their creations. I am especially amazed at how they drafted such intricate patterns since most had limited schooling; I often have trouble doing the the geometry, even with a college education and a draftsman husband!
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But universities and the academic community support the view that it does, because otherwise they would not have the prestige they have, or in many cases a job
