[Social_Critic]

That Scotsman was a Cuban refugee, taken as a tiny baby to Scotland by his parents, Cubans who returned to Europe when the sugar harvest failed in 1603. These Cubans were multilingual geniuses, used to work in the royal household and slipped him into the royal craddle when the original James died of sudden death syndrome. Later they told him about his true genealogy, and his father was named Earl of Lennox.

If you check his DNA study, which was obtained from a hair taken from the royal hairbrush, the guy descended from Armenians, Chinese, Spaniards from Seville, and Jews. Only Cubans show such unique genotypes, because the Spanish fleet used to gather in Havana, and all sorts of would be inmigrants, emigrants, and miscreants used to meet there. The fleet would return to Europe with adventurers who made their fortune everywhere, and some ascended to the highest levels of society. They included Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, and William Gilbert. The British people should not feel bad because as it turns out most famous British people were Cubans who assumed British identities. After all, crafty Cubans moved to the Far East, and one of them became Tokugawa Ieyasu in Japan. Others went to Italy, invented the pizza pie, and one of them, who changed his name to Giovanni Battista Pamphili, became Pope.

[Cookie Monster]

That Scotsman was a Cuban refugee, taken as a tiny baby to Scotland by his parents, Cubans who returned to Europe when the sugar harvest failed in 1603. These Cubans were multilingual geniuses, used to work in the royal household and slipped him into the royal craddle when the original James died of sudden death syndrome. Later they told him about his true genealogy, and his father was named Earl of Lennox.

If you check his DNA study, which was obtained from a hair taken from the royal hairbrush, the guy descended from Armenians, Chinese, Spaniards from Seville, and Jews. Only Cubans show such unique genotypes, because the Spanish fleet used to gather in Havana, and all sorts of would be inmigrants, emigrants, and miscreants used to meet there. The fleet would return to Europe with adventurers who made their fortune everywhere, and some ascended to the highest levels of society. They included Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, and William Gilbert. The British people should not feel bad because as it turns out most famous British people were Cubans who assumed British identities. After all, crafty Cubans moved to the Far East, and one of them became Tokugawa Ieyasu in Japan. Others went to Italy, invented the pizza pie, and one of them, who changed his name to Giovanni Battista Pamphili, became Pope.

Are you the Cuban version of Cherry?

[Social_Critic]

Where is Cherry from? I can't answer until I know the detailed genealogy of this person.

I assume this Cherry isn't the same Cherry who had the luck of bagging a North Vietnamese soldier on his first patrol in the Ke Ta Lau valley when he was looking for water to fill his canteen on a dark night. That Cherry was very educated, but I don't think he would be copying my style.

[Potemkin]

Cherry is an Ainu Japanese who is, of course, secretly Cuban. The Japanese government is currently trying to hunt him down with seek-and-destroy helicopters.

[Social_Critic]

That Cherry. Got it. But you know, the Japanese don't seem to be their efficient selves ever since they lost that nice set of matched nuclear power plants at Fukushima. I think their helicopters will have a really hard time finding Cherry the Erzatz Ainu, because they lack the sensors to tell an Ainu from a Cuban wearing an Ainu haircut. The AINU lack full 100 % coverage by any haplogroup. For example, the Y-haplogroups D-M55 and D-M125 are only found in 88 % of the Ainu population, and this allows Cherry to slip through the government's genetic sequencing surveillance devices. He can drop his hair, spit, and nail clippings all over the place, and there's nothing they can do about it.

[SigTurner]

10. Genghis Khan: raised more hell than anyone in human history

9. Tamerlane: raised more hell than anyone in human history, except Gengis Khan (and that's debatable).

8. Peter the Great: modernized Russia

7. Frederick the Great: Let's face it (for better and for worse), were it not for Fred, there would have been no Bismark, no Kaiser, and no Hitler.

6. Alexander the Great: tattooed the East with Western (Hellenic) culture and ideology.

5. Suleiman the Magnificent: perhaps singularly responsible for the greatest cultural and sociopolitical leap forward for the entire Eurasian land mass as a whole.

4. Julius Caesar: his Gallic Wars permanently romanized Western Europe and changed the course of human history in a way that even he could never have forseen.

3. Napoleon Bonaparte: The Napoleonic Code changed Europe and the world forever.

2. Hongxi, Emperor of China: perhaps the biggest bonehead in all of human history; destroyed China's awesome fleet of ships because he deemed maritime exploration too expensive, thus paving the way for European conquest of the Americas and eventual European global maritime and economic dominance of the entire world, which could easily have been China's, had it not been for this short-sighted boob.

1. George Washington: "The Man Who Would Not Be King" Arguably the greatest political leader in all of human history for what he did not do, that is, assume the powers of dictator when he could have. By keeping his word to his fellow Freemasons, Washington enabled the American colonies to transition smoothly into a stable republic that would eventually progress into the greatest military and political power in the whole of human history.

[DudeWhoGetsIt]

these are your winners so far

Ghengis 5
Napoleon 3
Alexander 2
Peter tGr 2
Washington 2
Hitler 2
Timur 2

I would add my vote for Muhammed, Augustus, maybe Charlemagne

[wyly]

much to vague a topic for an objective selection...greatest military commander, greatest politician? and to easily swayed by ethnic/cultural/national biases.

if I had to choose roughly by region

Western Europe-Karl the Great/Charlemagne generally shaped western Europe to what it is today

Middle east, North Africa, SE Asia, Mohamed -obvious

Sub- continent...Gandhi ya I know he wasn't a military leader he was the exact opposite using his opponents military force against themselves.

China- Qin Shi Huangdi , unified China

Americas-Hernando de Soto

Eastern Europe- Peter the Great or Ivan the Terrible

Africa-? no one really, there was Ramesses but he was unimportant in regards to the entire continent.

[Potemkin]

Sub- continent...Gandhi ya I know he wasn't a military leader he was the exact opposite using his opponents military force against themselves.

Gandhi? I'd have gone for someone like the Buddha or Ashoka.

Americas-Hernando de Soto

I'd have said either Christopher Columbus or Hernan Cortes. Simon Bolivar is also a possibility.

Africa-? no one really, there was Ramesses but he was unimportant in regards to the entire continent.

Hannibal for North Africa, or Shaka Zulu for South Africa.

[J Oswald]

Hannibal for North Africa, or Shaka Zulu for South Africa.

I'd also suggest this man:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usman_dan_Fodio

[wyly]

Gandhi? I'd have gone for someone like the Buddha or Ashoka.

ya Buddha could be a better choice but was he a really a leader in the manner that Gandhi was?

I'd have said either Christopher Columbus or Hernan Cortes. Simon Bolivar is also a possibility.

Columbus I thought a bit over hyped, I could've chosen Cortes or Pizarro but De Soto was influential in South, Central and North America, I almost went with Bolivar but chose De Soto because he came much earlier and he made that epic exploration of the USA....thinking more on it Bolivar may be a better choice

Hannibal for North Africa, or Shaka Zulu for South Africa.

Hannibal a great general but his influence was very short and localized to Spain and Southern Italy and he lost so his influence was minimal, Scipio Africanus ultimately had a more lasting impact on africa. Shaka very localized and short term as well.

[wyly]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usman_dan_Fodio

I admit I've never heard of him but reading your link he doesn't appear to have wide spread influence.

Africa doesn't appear to have a really significant/influential historical leader

[J Oswald]

I admit I've never heard of him but reading your link he doesn't appear to have wide spread influence.

Africa doesn't appear to have a really significant/influential historical leader

The Sultanate of Sokoto under Usman dan Fodio exerted both cultural influence and military control over a large portion of West Africa. Usman was certainly more influential than Shaka Zulu.

[Potemkin]

Usman was certainly more influential than Shaka Zulu.

But not as cool, admit it.

[fuser]

ya Buddha could be a better choice but was he a really a leader in the manner that Gandhi was?

Not a leader but his influence was/is far greater and lasting than Gandhi's.

From subcontinent I will go for Akbar as a great Military/Political leader.

[Social_Critic]

Africa doesn't appear to have a really significant/influential historical leader

Dang it, I forgot who said the above. Anyhow, other than Hannibal Barca and Ramses II, I can't remember anybody who counted for much. The thing is, Hannibal lost his war, and Ramses II didn't do very well at the battle of Kadesh, so he had to settle for a draw and a deal with Muttawali's Hittites.

Which reminds me, when Ramses went to fight Muttawali at Kadesh, he must have run into the Hebrews, who were already settled around Jerusalem (the Exodus story is bogus, the Hebrews weren't Egyptian at all). Either that, or the Hebrews hid in the hills as the Egyptian army went by.

[wyly]

The Sultanate of Sokoto under Usman dan Fodio exerted both cultural influence and military control over a large portion of West Africa. Usman was certainly more influential than Shaka Zulu.

the best info I can find the sultanate was still a relatively small region, smaller than what the Egyptian dynasties controlled/influenced at their peak and that was a still localized. The Romans, and others had more extensive influence yet still amounted to little when you look at Africa as a whole. For North Africa I would go with Mohammad as the most influential.

[wyly]

But not as cool, admit it

Shaka definitely had the coolness factor.

[wyly]

Dang it, I forgot who said the above. Anyhow, other than Hannibal Barca and Ramses II, I can't remember anybody who counted for much. The thing is, Hannibal lost his war, and Ramses II didn't do very well at the battle of Kadesh, so he had to settle for a draw and a deal with Muttawali's Hittites.

Which reminds me, when Ramses went to fight Muttawali at Kadesh, he must have run into the Hebrews, who were already settled around Jerusalem (the Exodus story is bogus, the Hebrews weren't Egyptian at all). Either that, or the Hebrews hid in the hills as the Egyptian army went by.

Scipio Africanus was far and away more influential over a greater region than Hannibal or Ramesses, but few have heard of him. A lot of our choices are culturally influenced, based on where we grew up, what were taught in school and who Hollywood chooses to immortalize.

[wyly]

The list from my daughter the Archeologist/Historian

Western Europe- Augustus Caesar

Eastern Europe-Peter the Great

Middle East,which extends to SE Asia and North Africa- Mohammad

Sub Continent- Gandhi

China - 1st Emperor Qin

S America- Cortez

N America-Washington

Sub Saharan Africa- ? Mandela, his influence may have yet not fully been felt

Central Asia- Genghis Khan