Questions for the Group

Andra: In this post, which I really enjoyed, you talked about emigration from Latvia and asked about conditions under British rule, which I kind of addressed here and here, operating under the fact that a majority of the Irish were Catholic. You talk a lot about things on a very personal level (e.g. the woman's account) or a very large scale level (struggle for independence). I'm curious about somewhere between the two. What exactly were the rules instated by the USSR in Latvia? How did this oppression contribute to animosity between Latvians and the USSR?

Laura: Religion obviously had a large influence in the Spanish Netherlands and Ireland. I wonder how exactly religion was important? On a governing level? On a civilian level? In Ireland, religion was a polarizing factor, dividing countrymen into Protestant and Catholic, but, like in the Thirty Years' war, ultimately religion was not the most important factor in choosing sides. Eventually, after enough oppression and neglect by the British, religious differences fell aside (though, to be fair Protestants were a very small minority).