iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Vir Victus

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Why was India colonized while China managed to retain independence? @vir-victus.bsky.social takes a look at the situation in India itself, and what contributed to the British occupation & colonization.

buff.ly

Vir-victus's comment on "Why was India colonized while China managed to retain independence?"

Explore this conversation and more from the AskHistorians community

071 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

I don't usually post on r/askhistorians, but this is my research area, so I have tried by best, may the moderators have mercy on my answer. www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

reddit.com

How was it possible for so much of Romes population for the entirety of the republic to afford to buy their own armor and equipment?

2330931 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

This week on the blog: The logistics of Road War in Mad Max (and similar) settings: given logistical and tactical constraints, how might we actually expect warfare to be waged in a post-apocalypse? The answer is...a little bit technical. acoup.blog/2025/05/23/c...

acoup.blog

Collections: The Logistics of Road War in the Wasteland

This week, we’re doing another ‘silly’ topic, but this being me, it is a silly logistics topic, because – as the saying goes – amateurs talk tactics, professionals tal…

2542681 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

Rachael King @rachaelking70.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

This was just posted by @tbretc.bsky.social on another platform. The Chicago Sun-Times obviously gets ChatGPT to write a ‘summer reads’ feature almost entirely made up of real authors but completely fake books. What are we coming to?

758128763786 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

Roel Konijnendijk @roelkonijn.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

A deep dive on the nuggets of real history in 300: Rise of an Empire (the one in which Themistokles rides a horse into battle at Salamis) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw-e...

youtube.com

Historian Breaks Down '300: Rise of an Empire' Movie | Deep Dives

YouTube video by History Hit

2303 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

Rijksmuseum Art @rijksmuseumart.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

The Arms of the Dutch East India Company and of the Town of Batavia #artbots #rijksmuseum botfrens.com/collections/216/conten…

These shields feature the arms of the Dutch East India Company, ornamented with Neptune and a mermaid, and those of Batavia, flanked by Dutch lions. According to the inscription on the latter, the city of Jacatra (now Jakarta) was ‘Conquered on 30 May in the year 1619’. That same year Governor-General Jan Pietersz Coen renamed it Batavia and built a castle with dockyards, warehouses and offices.

152 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

Evan Schultheis @evanschultheis.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Anyone I know near NYC who wants to adopt a cat named after Byzantium who's scheduled for Euthanasia? She needs dental surgery and is wasting away because she can't eat without it. nycacc.app#/browse/224669

083 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

Paul "Princejvstin" Weimer @princejvstin.com · 03/05/2025

Volley fire of longbow arrows looks cool in movies, but its bollocks as an actual battlefield tactic. It never happened. @bretdevereaux.bsky.social takes us through it acoup.blog/2025/05/02/c... (aLso @michaellivingston.com 's book on Agincourt gets a mention too)

acoup.blog

Collections: Why Archers Didn’t Volley Fire

This week we’re looking at a specific visual motif common in TV and film: the arrow volley. You know the scene: the general readies his archers, he orders them to ‘draw!’ and then…

412227 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

Remove a letter, ruin a movie. Double entry: Das Boo Mad Ma: Fury Road

010 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

An apt comparison to Askhistorians?

A meme with two panels which references/utilizes the 'fall of Osgiliath'-scene from 'Lord of the Rings - Return of the King'. In the movie, the orcs launch a surprise attack over the river, of which the Gondorian forces remain unaware for quite some time. Once they take note of it, the defenders rush down to the river to intercept the overwhelming avalanche of incoming opponents. This premise is paraphrased or rather adapted for the Reddit community of Askhistorians: The premise (and suitably named title) read as/are 'A popular post on Askhistorians about a controversial topic', setting up the first panel in which the sizeable amount of unfitting comments (titled as 'speculation/jokes/anecdotes/revisionism' - all of which appear often on such popular threads despite violating the rules on quality and depth required of top-level responses) are represented by the incoming orcs. Cue panel two: the moderators - akin to the Gondorian soldiers - hastily rush to the river to take up defensive positions in anticipation of the insurmountable horde of (in this case) poor comments they will have to deal with.

140 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

AskHistorians has joined with thirty other research- and academia-focused subreddits to issue this statement condemning recent and ongoing efforts to undermine scholarly research and intellectual freedom in the United States. Please share widely! www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

reddit.com

From the AskHistorians community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the AskHistorians community

5448180 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

HR Lady Politics enjoyer (He/Him) @ryanabt.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Turns out that the people who said removing statues was trying to remove history were lying about caring about history.

273 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

While I am writing the more detailed version, here are m main gripes with said video I complained about - in particular the inaccuracies or unprofessional popularized narratives as depicted or perpetuated in said video: 1) Bombay was given to the EEIC in 1661. 2) The English were pathetic, ...

120 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

So Kings and Generals released their video about the rise of the EIC today...after the first 5 minutes alone there are so many mistakes, popular misconceptions and narratives being spread...guess that is worth a write-up on r/badhistory.

media.tenor.com

a man in a suit and tie sitting in a chair

Alt: a man in a suit and tie sitting in a chair

350 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

I Am Incorrigible @imincorrigible.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Trump Dec 2022: "If we don't have Free Speech, then we just don't have a Free Country. It's as simple as that." Trump Apr 2025: "I am so honored to be suing 60 Minutes, CBS Fake News, and Paramount... They should lose their license!" #r4today

1114349 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Good Choose Your Own Adventure stories make the choices important and impactful. They put the player in the hot seat, and give them prompts like "The East India house ponders the issue of independence, what do you do? " buff.ly/S2uGd03

The image shows the Choose Your Own Adventure prompt that reads; "It is the first time the General Court of Proprietors of the East India Company convenes in Leadenhall Street following the recent acquisition of the 'diwani' in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (1765). With civil and - of paramount importance - fiscal administration now firmly in the hands of you and your fellow shareholders of the most honourable Company, the world lies at your feet: The pesky french rival has just been reduced to a role of utter irrelevance, no longer able to contest your suzerainty and dominion as the THE European power on the Indian subcontinent, a position you and your skilled colleagues enjoy at the expense of several ten thousands soldiers in your service, your own private army; the Company, YOUR Company has evolved into a Company-state, a corporate-nation hybrid reaping the benefits of both trade ventures as well as lucrative tax revenues. Furthermore, new opportunities have become available, allowing for hitherto unprecedented, seemingly limitless extents of self-enrichment, means by which many of your friends, colleagues and rivals already have gotten absurdedly rich, so much so as to simply buy themselves a seat at the table, and by table I mean Parliament, which ironically does not provide tables for its seated members.

But despite the high spirits, there is a downside: your newly acquired, very much deserved fortune and source of immeasurable wealth, possibly ushering in a new era for you and your kind, has attracted the attention of the State: the government, ever envious rascal, is deliberating on how to best tap into the Companys wealth through the 'diwani'. As you are blissfully and lovingly spending your time daydreaming about all the riches you could loot and steal amass for your own desires the benefit of the Company and other honourable causes at the expense of both India and the EIC itself and in doing so picturing yourself as a joyful duck diving into a pond of gold -

1112 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

We invite any and all historians to share their views on these developments, including from the perspective of methodology, implications and/or global and historical precedents.

24817 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Since @liketexas.bsky.social and @evanschultheis.bsky.social voiced their rightful distaste for AI-generated content so aptly and creatively, I reckon since this is another 'dunk on gen-AI day', I ought to share my own intriguing, coincidental encounter of today. A historical content creator... 1/3

110 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Ok, need of advice. Suddenly found my Reddit account to have been suspended. I got notification, warning or mail about it. Since I dont even remotely post anything that violates the TOS, i assume this might have been done in error. Any way how I can clear this up or get to the bottom of this?

120 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

So remember my idea for the article about how politicised (right-wing) popular history tries to discredit academia (featuring Metatron)? I initially thought it was gonna be 15-20 pages; well this is going to be definitely more than 100, possibly FAR more, pending future revisions. Metatron just...

141 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Following @handsomeralph.bsky.social and @hergrim.bsky.social 's examples: 1. Hornblower 2. The Expanse (pretty much tied with place 1) 3. HBO's Rome 4. Sharpe's Rifles (tied place 3) 5. Avatar (Last Airbender, possibly Korra as well)

120 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

We can't deny that we get a certain amount of guilty pleasure from making it onto r/SubredditDrama, Reddit's premier source of meta-level commentary. Cases like this one are fascinating from both a moderation but also public history perspective... (🧵...) www.reddit.com/r/SubredditD...

reddit.com

From the SubredditDrama community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the SubredditDrama community

513940 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

For obvious reasons, I keep myself apprised of Metatrons upload schedule. The newest video features once again @roelkonijn.bsky.social and as special guest, Metatrons massively inflated ego. Dude (Meta) cannot handle NOT being right at all that much, that he made an entirely new video about... 1/7

100 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

So, popular misconceptions - todays candidate: ''The British ruled India for 200 years'' (spoiler, they didnt). My full response is available on Askhistorians, but I will summarize some of the important points: A very persistent common belief is that the British as both the East India Company... 1/x

reddit.com

From the AskHistorians community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the AskHistorians community

172 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Yeah I have some of those unfinished answers lying around as well, many of them *almost* done, but just missing the last refinement. I think two of the respective inquiries were ''How similar is the East India Company to modern billionaires?'', the other about historical examples of corporate wars.

110 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

It is always 'interesting' to see popular (mis-)conceptions people have about the East India Company. Today's is brought to you by 'Historymemes' in three flavours: 1. Oddly, the EIC never revolted against Britain. 2. Oddly, they didnt object being dissolved in 1874. 3. The EIC was independent. 1/3

131 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

UPDATE: As I am making good progress on the article, Metatron keeps uploading new videos. The most recent one features a React to an interview of Michael J. Taylor. Though Meta didn't have a specific problem with him, he reiterated his accusation that he regards many of the other experts as... 1/5

120 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Today I was taken by curiosity and watched a few clips from the infamous movie 'Gladiator II' (2024). However a couple of scenes seemed eerily familiar, so I went back to examine a few clips from its prequel, only to realise, Scott copy-pasted entire shots from the first into the second movie: 1/8

141 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

Michael J. Taylor @drmichaeljtaylor.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

This is unambiguously a Nazi salute and proves that Elon Musk is an evil person who subscribes to an evil ideology. I'm sure foolish persons will try to say that he is just doing a Roman salute, or some bullshit like that. He is not.

2246 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Usually I refrain from posting about current politics, but this MUST warrant an exception. It should be painstakingly clear what kind of salute this is (spoiler: not the Roman one). The person doing it is one of the richest, most powerful men on the planet, with far reaching influence on the US Gov.

140 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

The Lincoln Project @lincolnproject.us · 20/01/2025

Trump's right hand man (literally) just casually giving the Nazi salute... twice.

94584122556 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Delve into the #History of India with @vir-victus.bsky.social , and find out how the British conquest of the subcontinent was anything but apparent or obvious for most of the time!

buff.ly

Vir-victus's comment on "Did Indians help Europen’s manage the East India Company?"

Explore this conversation and more from the AskHistorians community

0121 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

Roel Konijnendijk @roelkonijn.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

And here it is: Ditch Guy episode 4! (As some commenters have noticed, I had a cold and I was picking up the interviewer's American accent, so I sound a little different) www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYtI...

youtube.com

179212 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

I am partially opposed to fireworks at New Years, mostly because of how many animals are terribly frightened by it. But when someone (as did happen here last night) launches fireworks in the middle of night, A WEEK AFTER New Years, ON A WORK DAY, right next to houses, they should be fined for it.

020 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Following @spencermcdaniel.bsky.social's recommendation of the insanely well-written two-part dismantling of 'Gladiator II' by @bretdevereaux.bsky.social, I wholeheartedly urge people to read it as well. Also I can safely say, I'd never want to have been part of the Severan dynasty. Too dangerous.

acoup.blog

Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part I

This week (and next), I want to talk a bit about the recent release of Gladiator II. Now I’ve written a review of the film for Foreign Policy, which you can find here (behind the paywall). I …

020 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

I can vividly imagine a designated president standing near or inside the US Capitol in front of a crowd, proclaiming: ''I am the greatest president that ever lived, strike me down if I'm lying!'' - So naturally, lightning hit twice.

010 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Today marks the 424th anniversary of the East India Companys founding: Constituted on Dec. 31st, 1600 via Royal Charter, the ''Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies'' were granted a trade monopoly stretching from the Cape of Good Hope to the Strait of Magellan. 1/7

110 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Until today, the oldest still living US president left office in 1981. Now the oldest living US president wont leave office until early 2025, as Biden is still serving. Also: until today, the 'oldest' term of office among the still living presidents was between 1977-1981, now it is 1993-2001. 1/3

100 0

Reposted by Vir Victus

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

BREAKING Former President Jimmy Carter has died, his grandson says. He was 100.

59636137 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Update: Upon getting up, I decided to start writing the introduction to the essay/article about Metatrons REACTs. Its becoming clear I underestimated the possible length of this, as the introduction alone will be about 2 entire pages. Will definitely edit and have it proof-read by others afterwards.

100 0

Vir Victus @vir-victus.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Enjoy this clearly real and historical depiction of Warren Hasting in a Christmas hat. To everyone, merry Christmas and happy Holidays!🎄

Warren Hastings, wearing a christmas hat and posing in front of a fireplace and a decorated Christmas tree.

021 0