Random trivia

IronDuke said:
I don't think the Dutch Republic would've constituted a "Super power" in the true sense of the word. It definately was a major player in international affairs (mainly through the VOC), and definately "punched above its weight." But a super power? Nah.
France and the Ottoman Empire were the only true Super Powers at the time. Spain's power, although still mighty, was on a slow decline. England was too busy getting its king's head chopped off t do much internationally.
Click to expand...

The Ottoman Empire? It depends on what part of the world you want to zoom in. And if you talk about land or sea.

But this:
Ottoman_1683.png

is a big area indeed !

The French a super power in the 17th century ? I admit: They had the largest population of Europe at that time, a population even larger than Russia. Also the tremendous influence over European politics, economy and culture should not be denied.

But the Dutch came further, achieved more wealth, and ruled the seven seas. ;--P

Don't forget: France wasn't this jealous for nothing. And they needed England and Germany to defeat the Dutch. Would a super power do that? Nah... only weaker countries would. Anyway after this, In the 19th and 20th centuries France's global colonial empire was the second largest in the world behind the British Empire.
 
You're really saying that the Dutch republic was more powerful in international affairs than the Ottoman Empire in the 17th Century? I'm not going to go tit-for-tat on this, but let's just say you should read up on the two a little more, especially the Ottomans.
 
IronDuke said:
You're really saying that the Dutch republic was more powerful in international affairs than the Ottoman Empire in the 17th Century? I'm not going to go tit-for-tat on this, but let's just say you should read up on the two a little more, especially the Ottomans.
Click to expand...

What are international affairs in your opinion?

I am saying that the Ottomans did no more than they did on the shown map of my previous post (that was their maximum of territory).

In the 17th century the Dutch even went to Japan. The Dutch traders at Dejima in Nagasaki were the only European foreigners tolerated in Japan after 1640.

350px-DutchEmpire.png


Never heard about the Dutch Golden Age?
Maybe you should read up a bit more about Holland. Who knows Holland even owned your city back then. ;--)
 
"Holland" and "Dutch Republic" are to good-a-name, I prefer "The NETHERLANDS"!! DUN DUN DUN!!! I like the image it gives of a mortal realm being ruled by Hades or Pluto.... take your pick. I'd go for Hades since Pluto is no longer and should have never been a planet :D
 
No, they didn't really get to Nova Scotia.
And while the Dutch merchants were indeed permitted to trade in Nagasaki, they were not the first to go there nor were they they first to go there regularly. They simply had the favour of the shoguns, beginning with Tokugawa Ieyasu's expulsion of all other foriegners (with a few exceptions) and supression of Christianity. The Jesuits, mainly Spanish and Portuguese, and the Dominicans (mostly Italian in this case) were very active there as well. The exception mentioned above was that of William Adams and his comrades, a group of Englishmen who had been in Japan for many years.

My point is that going to Japan wasn't a big deal.

And to say the Ottomans had no influence outside their actual borders is so laughably incorrect that I don't know where to start correcting it.
 
Duke, let's look at this objectively. Let's compare the foreign political impact of the Ottoman Empire and The Netherlands in the 17th century.

The Ottomans were quarreling with Austria, Russia, Persia, Arabia and Egypt at that time.

The Dutch were engaged in (judging merely from Forostar's map) North America, South Africa, India*, Ceylon, the Sahel. Not to mention they were at war with Spain. Not to mention they were bordering the Holy Roman Empire and France. Not to mention they were in heartily diplomatic contact with England.

Hmm....


*I can't be bothered to pull out a book or historical atlas to check which Empires were around in India at that time, but my guess is that they had to do with the Mughals and Vijayanagar. I also can't be bothered to check when they got engaged in the Spice Islands.
 
IronDuke said:
And while the Dutch merchants were indeed permitted to trade in Nagasaki, they were not the first to go there nor were they they first to go there regularly. .....
Click to expand...

The first? I guess not. The best? Without a doubt --->
The Dutch became instrumental in transmitting to Japan some knowledge of the industrial and scientific revolution that was occurring in the West: the Japanese purchased and translated numerous scientific books from the Dutch, obtained from them Western curiosities and manufactures (such as clocks), and received demonstrations of various Western innovations. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch were arguably the most economically wealthy and scientifically advanced of all European nations, which put them in a privileged position to transfer Western knowledge to Japan.


IronDuke said:
...My point is that going to Japan wasn't a big deal.
Click to expand...

Japan already had at that time one of the largest urban populations in the world, with more than one million inhabitants in Edo, and many other vast cities such as Osaka and Kyoto, offering a vast, literate market to such novelties. In the large cities, some shops open to the general public were specializing in foreign curiosities.

IronDuke said:
And to say the Ottomans had no influence outside their actual borders is so laughably incorrect that I don't know where to start correcting it.
Click to expand...

Start correcting it at wikipedia, if you are allowed.
Seriously though, I am only trying to present facts, and if you would do this as well, I can only learn from it.
 
Fair enough.

For the record: Wikipedia should not be taken as fact. It's the truth as agreed upon by internet users, and is therefore  not subjected to peer review as other more traditional forms of dissemination are.
 
IronDuke said:
Fair enough.

For the record: Wikipedia should not be taken as fact. It's the truth as agreed upon by internet users, and is therefore  not subjected to peer review as other more traditional forms of dissemination are.
Click to expand...

Not everything on Wikipedia I take for a fact (remember the mistakes on Iron Maiden?)
But most history is in the books as well, backed up by lots of ancient documents.


A new question anyone ? :--)
 
What does "Shut the fucking door" mean in Portuguese?


(Sorry, somebody else post a decent question :P)
 
Perun said:
What does "Shut the fucking door" mean in Portuguese?


(Sorry, somebody else post a decent question :P)
Click to expand...
Err..... :censored:  :P

Per...Did Bruce say something like that on Scream For Me Brazil album? :D
 
St. Dominic is credited for starting... you guessed it, the Dominican Order. However, who's idea was it to go out to the countryside and preach to the poor?
 
I think I saw this in a history text book before.  It's something to do with the "Gold Rush" in California and the devastation that the settlers left behind.  That photograph is showing us a sample of the skeletons of the animals that were killed in man's pursuit of wealth.
 
Skulls of bison from the Great Plains of the US/Canada in the 19th Century.

Luckily today, the herds have recovered to such an extent that they are commercially farmed (albeit in small quantities). Bison meat is much tastier than beef, plus it has considerably more nutritional content and less fat.
 
Name the four countries that were annexed by the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1944 (complete countries, not territories of others). Bessarabia/Moldova does not count because it was under Romanian control before it was ceased to the Soviet Union in 1940.
 
A part of Poland was annexed, but not the complete country. The other three are correct.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top