texts: Why have some Sahrawis become Moroccan citizens while others ended up in refugee camps?

texts:
Quoting from this article,

The Sahrawis who did not flee have been given Moroccan citizenship.

Is this all there is to the story? Much of the literature on the Western Sahara conflict overlooks why some of the native Sahrawi ended up in Tinduf while others remained. Were the former expressly chased by the Moroccan forces, and if so, what distinguished them from their fellow Sahrawis who did integrate the Moroccan realm?
In other words, to what extent are the Sahrawis in Tinduf "self-exiled" (e.g., for ideological reasons) as opposed to forcibly exiled (e.g., via the exactions of the Moroccan army)?
EDIT:
To better qualify the question, what evidence do we have that those who ended up in Tinduf were expressly chased by the Moroccans, as opposed to co-opted into leaving because of ideological factors (from within the Polisario elite, from Algeria, Spain, etc.) The very definition of "refugee" as opposed to "self-exile" rests on whether the move was from their own volition. This is all the more paradoxical in that significant numbers of them remained in (what is now) Morocco and willingly integrated its institutions (political, educational, etc.).


texts: What do written sources say about disability in early civilisations?

texts:
Inspired by a previous question on the historical treatment of the disabled, I wonder if there are any written sources from Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Babylonian and civilizations from before 1400BCE about the following things:

What sorts of people would the early civilizations consider "handicapped", that is, distinguished from "normal" members of society due to what we would consider a disability today? (Based on contemporary textual sources, not archaeological inference.)
How were these people treated? (May use textual sources and archaeology.)


texts: Why was Kaliningrad placed under the Russian SFSR rather than the Lithuanian SSR?

texts:
Kaliningrad was (and still is) Russia's only (non-trivial*) exclave. Why did Stalin and the Soviet leaders transfer Kaliningrad to the Russian SFSR rather than the Lithuanian SSR (with which Kaliningrad was contiguous)?

My thoughts:

Soviet leaders believed the Soviet Union would last indefinitely (and so for strategic purposes, it hardly mattered if Kaliningrad was in the Lithuanian SSR or the Russian SFSR).
They could not have known that a mere half-century later, Lithuania would become Russia's enemy.
And thus, for administrative purposes, it would surely make sense to have Kaliningrad administered under Lithuania, rather than have an awkward Russian exclave. (We know for example that even Crimea, which is linked by bridge to Russia, would be transferred to Ukraine in 1954 because of "the integral character of the economy, the territorial proximity and the close economic and cultural ties between the Crimea Province and the Ukrainian SSR". This argument, I presume, would've been a fortiori true of Kaliningrad and the Lithuanian SSR.)

But clearly the Soviet leaders did otherwise, so how did their thinking differ from my above thoughts?

*Technically, Russia also has another exclave, namely Sankovo-Medvezhye, which is completely surrounded by Belarus (and is hence also an enclave). However, this second exclave is trivial in that it is (i) unpopulated; (ii) 4.5 km² in size; and (iii) only 800 m away from the "proper" border.


texts: What was the age of majority in 1900 United States?

texts:
What was the age of majority in 1900, in the United States? For women and for men?

I am not asking about the age of consent.

The age of majority is the chronological moment when minors cease to legally be considered children and assume control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over and for them.


texts:
Until the late 16th century, galleys were the main battleships. They were then started to be replaced by larger galleons, as the galleons could carry much bigger cannons with the developed technology.

My question is about the time of the galleys:

How was a typical naval battle? Did the ships have to get together to initiate a fight?
How was a typical attack to a fort from the galleys? How the forts could be invaded?


texts: Was there anything like an African-American architectural style or symbolism at the beginning of the 20th century?

texts:
At the beginning of 20th century, large masses of black people were migrating to northern states or between districts of the same towns (like in New York from Tenderloin or San Juan Hill to Harlem, previously occupied by Italians and Jews) because of lower real estate prices, economic crashes, and worsening of conditions for blacks elsewhere, including anti-black riots. Several black real-estate entrepreneurs like Phillip Payton Jr took big part in the organization of such moves.

I wonder if it had any reflexion in the architecture of such districts, except for the probably thriftier use of ornaments, which I believe would clearly result from the low price of the newly created buildings.

I compare it for example to Jewish settlements in Europe or the United States, where their own culture was strongly reflected in local architecture. But while there were plenty of Jewish architects with proper education and a unique style that developed through centuries, with its own symbolism, I'm not aware of anything like that in Black American culture, except for so called shotgun houses.

How did settlements of Black Americans affect the local architecture? Was there anything like a Black American architectural style or symbolism at the beginning of 20th century or later?


texts: Did Sturmabteilung (SA) commit serious crimes before 1933?

texts:
Wikipedia says:

Their primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi rallies and
assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties, fighting
against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties, especially the
Red Front Fighters League (Rotfrontkämpferbund) of the Communist Party
of Germany (KPD), and intimidating Slavic and Romani citizens,
unionists, and Jews...

My question is: according to historians, did SA commit serious crimes like grievous bodily harm or murder of political opponents during the period of Nazi rise to power? (Can you put it into the context of "fighting against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties"?)


texts: I'm looking for one big, synthetic work about colonialism from 15th to 18th century. I need general history, included history of Spain, France, Portugal, Netherlands and England/Great Britain. Do you know any?


texts: What was the estimated malaria death toll for US Forces during World War II?

texts:
Recently I run onto an article listing 10 most deadliest epidemics in the human history, this contradictory article was from Russian website that looks rather low quality, but what attracted my focus is one number in Malaria chapter of their list. Literally they say:

  Almost 60000 of American soldiers died from this disease in Africa and in southern part of Pacific ocean during the World War II.

Also this English article cites this number but the website again looks low quality and unreliable.

This was very surprising for me that such routine disease easily curable now had such enormous death toll in the WWII.

I started to search and found no mentions of such casualties in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of WWII. The starting point of my search was US casualties page of Wikipedia which cites 291,557 combat deaths and 113,842 deaths from other causes but gives no differentiation from which causes.

I found many science publications about malaria in US troops during WWI (example), but nothing specifically about WWII. This PubMed article about history of malaria in US Naval Forces puts number of 113,256 cases and only 90 deaths. The number 113,256 looks very similar to non-combat casualties from Wiki page which is 113,842. Coincidence? I suppose yes.

Are there any reliable sources about malaria death toll during World War II? Were they so enormous like it is described in those articles? I doubt.


texts: Names of articles worn by men of ~11th century European nobility

texts: Would anyone be able to name the articles of clothing that would usually be worn by men of noble status in Europe around the 11/12th century CE? A general answer would suffice, as I realize that "Europe" is rather vague.


texts: Was Theodoric the Great killed by Justinian?

texts:
In a recent Medieval History class my professor made a statement that Theodoric the Great after he signed up with Byzantines was killed on the orders of Justinian I so the Byzantines could take over Italy.  With Theodoric removing Odoacer, with the initial blessing of Zeno it seems that maybe he outlived his usefulness, especially if Theodoric was an Arianist.  This supposedly happened in Ravenna, or there abouts.  I haven't found much on this, or on Theodoric's death (other than he died on Aug 26, 526).  Did Justinian I have Theodoric killed at Ravenna?  I don't think it was Justinian I himself, since I can't find anything that says he ever vistied Ravenna but it may have been done on his orders.

Anyone have any primary sources that might note where Theodoric died and how he met his end?


texts:
I got an old wall clock. I'm not at all a clock expert and I would like to know more about its real age.

It has a date engraved in its wood: 18/III 07. I assume that this is finishing-date and 18 is the day and III is the month. Now the 07 is most likely 1907, or maybe it is 1807. I assume the clock has its origin in central Europe. Germany, Austria or France, maybe Switzerland.

When did people stop, in let's say in Germany and France, to write dates with roman month numbers?

UPDATE 2013-01-12 (or 12/I 2013 ;-) ): After having the (real-life)-feedback of a knowing person: The watch might be from the early 19th century regarding the clockwork mechanics (wooden plates are keeping the gears in place, instead of metal plates as done in newer clockworks). The date is most likely not the construction date, but a repair date as it can be found regularly. So 1907 is the most likely.


texts: Where did the so-called "Jap Skulls" end up?

texts:
I have read that there was a disturbingly common practice of American soldiers in the Pacific theater of WWII to take the skulls of dead Japanese soldiers as trophies to take home, give to girlfriends, etc. A Wikipedia article on this can be found here.

My question is: In the years after the war, where did all these skulls end up?  I imagine that as the wartime fervor subsided and Americans realized how the Japanese had been dehumanized, there would be a growing revulsion to keeping these human remains in their possession. What did people to with the skulls they had: bury them? throw them away?  Was it talked about, or was it a dirty little secret that people disposed of quietly?


texts: What effects did World War II have on Japanese animation industry?

texts:
I was recently looking up the effects of the world war on Japanese Animation Industry after I made the following observations

It is quite common to see German names in Japanese Anime which could be an effect of Japan's Alliance with Germany during the war. It has been discussed here
Hitler looking characters are quite common to see-16 Times Hitler Showed up in Anime
Many World War Depicting Series listed here

I want to know that how exactly did the animation and manga industry cope up during the World War and what effects did it have on them in terms of their funding, public image and how did they recover from the losses.

I have read the following but I feel they lack quantification-
Source 1; Source 2


texts: Are these outfits of children of Nazis historically accurate, and if so, what is their meaning?

texts:
In the Spanish film the photographer of Mauthausen there is a scene of a party held to celebrate the birthday of the son of Mauthausen Concentration Camp commander (Franz Ziereis).

In the party at least two children of Nazis are present, the birthday boy himself, and the daughter of a Nazi industrialist/businessman (named only Poschacher). During the party, the boy is wearing a green triangle pointing up and the girl a red triangle pointing down, as can be seen in the following screenshot.

They remind me of the symbols used to mark Nazi prisoners, and it seems strange to me that they would put similar markings on their own children, but they are Nazis so go figure.

Are these costumes historically accurate, and if so, what is the meaning of the markings?


texts: Why did the USSR have two sources of currency?

texts:
An inscription on the 1, 3, and 5 rubles notes says that it is a State Treasury Note (Государственный Казначейский Билет), and that it is guaranteed by the entire property of the Union of SSR (обеспечивается всем достоянием Союза ССР).
On the other hand, the inscription on the 10, 25, 50, and 100 rubles notes says that it is a State Bank Note (Билет Государственного Банка), and that it is guaranteed by gold, precious metals, and by other assets of the State Bank (обеспечивается золотом, драгоценными металлами и прочими активами Государственного Банка).
Just in case, here are the images of the notes.
There were absolutely no difference in their circulation.
What was the rationale of having two independent sources of currency?


texts: What are the archaeological evidence for the Aztec's use of entheogens?

texts:
A recent Skeptics question, Was honey used preserve psychoactive mushrooms in the ancient past?, caught my attention and I came upon the Wikipedia article on the Aztec use of entheogens. The article is poorly sourced, and mostly points to the Florentine Codex, but it also hints towards other sources:

  The ancient Aztecs employed a variety of entheogenic plants and animals within their society. The various species have been identified through their depiction on murals, vases, and other objects.

The Wikipedia article on Entheogenic drugs and the archaeological record isn't particularly helpful either, although it does point to Xochipilli and the interactive presentation of the figure in J. Paul Getty museum's website.

I can't seem to be able to find other sources that directly discuss archaeological evidence or contemporary literary evidence other than the Florentine Codex, perhaps because most sources are in Spanish and/or not available online.

Help?


texts: Did Iran host anti Soviet Afghan factions during the 1980's?

texts:
It is well known that Pakistan hosted many anti-Soviet Sunni fundamentalist groups, who continue to generate problems for Pakistan (and the world) to this day.

If Iran did  provide sanctuary to anti-Soviet Afghan factions, they  most likely would have come from Afghanistan's Shiite minority refugees. On the other hand, I suspect Iran would have maintained a hands off policy in this conflict in light of its war with Iraq at the time.


texts: How were heavier objects weighed in antiquity/middle ages?

texts: How were heavier objects weighed in antiquity or the middle ages? Were balances simply scaled up in size with appropriately larger weights? Did people know how much an elephant or even an ox actually weighed?


texts: Who were the Catholic popes before Francis I who used names not of Latin, Greek or Jewish origin?

texts: Who were the Catholic popes before the current Francis I who used names not of Latin, Greek or Jewish origin? Particularly, names of Germanic origin, like Francis.


texts: What evidence support the theory that the killing of unwanted children was practiced in ancient Athens?

texts:
While researching the Who first wrote about deafness? question, I came across this bold claim on Wikipedia:

  Sparta is often portrayed as being unique in this matter, however there is considerable evidence that the killing of unwanted children was practiced in other Greek regions, including Athens.

The quote of course refers to the primitive eugenics of the Spartans, their custom of throwing "puny and deformed" babies into a chasm on Mount Taygetos is documented by various ancient writers, including Strabo and Plutarch.

But that was Sparta, not Athens. Wikipedia cites "Buxton 2001, p. 201" for the claim, by which I imagine it means the paperback edition of Richard Buxton's From Myth to Reason?: Studies in the Development of Greek Thought, that was first published in 1999.

I (obviously) don't have access to the book, and I couldn't find any other reference for the practise not being unique to Sparta. Help?


texts:
Hannibal's passage through the Alps has been extensively studied, regarding the route chosen and logistics involved in passing a large army through difficult terrain.

Before that, Hannibal would have had to lead his army out of the Iberian Peninsula into what is now southern France. This question is about how he did it, and where he could/must have passed the Pyrenees.

The maritime option seems to be easily ruled out, since the Romans largely had control over the Gulf of Lion. However, their presence "on the ground" seems to have been limited to several ports, such as Empuries, with less influence further inwards. This leads us to a possible route that would follow approximately the coast line, but some distance inland - similar to the modern-day highway system between Catalonia and the south of France and passing the Pyrenees at what is now Col du Perthus.

However, there exists also a popular legend in north-western Catalonia stating that Hannibal's army marched up along the Segre river valley[1], passing what is now La Seu d'Urgell and going over the Pyrenees either through Andorra or through the region of Cerdanya (modern Puigcerdà). Opinions diverge on this last bit.

Which hypothesis seems more plausible to our esteemed users, and why?

[1] For example, published in the local newspaper El Periodic  (in Catalan).


texts: How much did a telephone call cost in the USA around 1920?

texts:
I am looking for data on historic telephone call prices in the US between 1920 and 1930. What did it cost to make a call? I know that, back then different rates were charged based on the distance of the call. But what where these rates? And what were the pricing categories at which different distances were bundled?

I have already searched the website of AT&T and the FCC as well as consulted articles and books in economic history but this information is surprisingly rare.

Edit:
One source from the FCC (here, p. 62, table 13) shows the different rates charged for some specific distances. These are very helpful to get a good picture of the price differences. However, for my purpose it would be important to know at exactly which distances calls were classified as long-distance (or would fall in the next higher category) and thus become more expensive.


texts: Where were the western legions when the Roman empire fell?

texts:
Whenever I read about the collapse of the western half of the Roman empire, I get a feeling of total collapse, as if no legions existed there anymore. The collapse of the empire would also mean no payment for the legionaries. I am surprised I read nothing about the legions existing at the time, as if none existed or that they simply vanished, without a bribe or promise of further employment. And what Roman legionary would fight for a barbarian king? Where were the legions in 476 AD?

EDIT: Here's a YouTube video with some relevant info.


texts: Did medieval guards wear heavy armor for long periods of time?

texts:
We've all seen guards in movies walking around with full plate mail, clunking with each step.

Now, I know that plate mail was much more mobile, and much less heavy, than movies and literature imply. But what about the fatigue of wearing that armor for long lengths of time?

How long did guards wear their armor, and how much did they wear? (especially compared to troops and other people of the era).

It might help to contrast between:

Standing guards
Patrolling guards

If there is such an applicable distinction.

Were there different "levels" of guards? Such as light patrolling guards, but a few heavier guards in reserve?

And how much armor did they wear on a typical day? Did they up-armor during special events? Did they up-armor during a call-to-action / emergency, or just run out there in whatever they had?

As for the specific era: I'm looking for general information, so anything with swords, shields, and armor is acceptable. You'll know the appropriate bounds on timeline better than I.

Thank you for your time.


texts: Why did European countries become more economically advanced than non European countries?

texts:
Barring a few places in the erstwhile USSR, for which communism and its fall had a major role to play, countries with a predominantly white population, collectively called "The West" are the most economically (and socially?) well to do ones in the modern world.

Going back a few centuries, it was the Europeans that populated the "new world". Why not people of other regions? Because Europeans had the most resources to do so? But some medieval Asian countries were rich too. Asian, African and South american countries were the ruled upon, not the rulers. Why were the Europeans the colonists, not these other countries? Even if they weren't, why couldn't they keep the invaders out effectively? These countries actually had a very rich and ancient history, with access to considerable engineering and tech for those times. Trade flourished too, think about the silk route and the extensive reach of the Indian subcontinent. But they still did not/do not thrive as much as the Europeans.

I know race had no part to play in this, but why the coincidence? Was it the climate? the geography? The religion? Invention of the steam engine and the following industrial boom? (But colonisation started before that era)


texts: When & where were three masted ships invented?

texts:
My friend and I got a speaking assignment for History about three-masted ships (and how they changed exploration trips), we've been googling for a few hours now but we can't seem to find a lot of information (we also can't ask our other classmates because we've all gotten different subjects).

Could someone give is a few sources or answers to one or more of the following questions?

Where, when and by who were they invented
How did their invention change exploration trips?
Any additional info..


texts: Did syphilis, polio, hepatitis, and encephalitis come to general world from the Americas?

texts: This site asserts that syphilis, polio, hepatitis, and encephalitis come to general world from the Americas but I am unable to prove that statement could someone confirm or deny it?


texts: What is the origin of Khans? Is there any link between South Asian Khans and the Mongols?

texts: I live in India where lots of Muslims are Khans. I know about Genghis Khan who was not a Muslim but a Khan. So is their any relation between Khans like Genghis Khan (or Mongols) and current Khans?


texts: Did Germany have treaties imposed upon it after WWII that mirrored the weight of the Treaty of Versailles?

texts: After WWI, the treaty of Versailles became the rallying cry for more extreme political forces in Germany, as it's terms were blamed for the countries hardships, and as an insult to the country itself. Are the terms of treaties imposed upon Germany after their defeat in WWII felt to be as insulting as the ones that were imposed with Versailles to the German people of the second half of the 20th century?


texts: Is this assessment of the damage caused to Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh war accurate?

texts:
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a mutually bloody war between 1988 and 1994. The Azerbaijan government (specifically, its embassy in Latvia, of all places) said that the Armenians caused all the following damage. It seems likely to be exaggerated, but by how much?

http://www.embassyaz.lv/en/azerbaijan/armenian-occupation

  Destructions caused by the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan
  Settlements - 890 Houses - 150.000 Public Buildings - 7.000 Schools -
  693 Kindergartens - 855 Health Care Facilities - 695 Libraries - 927
  Temples - 44 Mosques - 9 Historical Palaces - 9 Historical Monuments
  and Museums - 464 Museum Exhibits - 40.000 Industrial and Agricultural
  Enterprises - 6.000 Motor Ways - 800 km Bridges - 160 Water Pipelines
  - 2.300 km Gas Pipelines - 2.000 km Electricity Lines - 15.000 km Forests - 280.000 ha Sowing Area - 1.000.000 ha Irrigation Systems -
  1.200 km


texts: What goods did Germany trade during the Weimar Republic, and with whom?

texts:
What countries were trading with Germany during its pre-Nazi Weimar Republic era (1919-1930), and what goods did they trade? I've read a few references that just broadly state that Germany had no goods to trade, such as the Wikipedia article on the Weimar Republic that currently says:

  The 1920s German inflation started when Germany had no goods to trade.

But, I haven't seen these claims backed by any facts or evidence. If they truly weren't trading anything with other countries, then the question is why not? Was it a question of resources, or were there political factors?


texts: Are these Spanish American War uniforms?

texts: Can anyone identify the uniforms these men are wearing?  The young man in this picture may be my Grandfather, who fought in the Spanish American War.  He was underage when he joined to fight.


texts: Who is this American politician holding a speech at the beginning of "In the year of the Pig" (1968)?

texts:
The 1968 Vietnam documentary In the year of the Pig begins with a speech of an American politician:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz8H_oi1ck0&t=200s

Who is he and what was the occasion for holding this speech?


texts: Communication lag during the Age of Sail: what if enemy claimed that peace agreement was signed?

texts:
In the past due to the communication lag the hostilities could proceed long after peace agreements were signed. This was especially severe for the overseas territories and ships. I'm somewhat more interested in how it was handled by navies.

It's quite obvious what happened when both parties were aware of the latest news on the international relations. It's also easy to imagine what would happen if one party was aware of the declaration of war whereas the other was not. However it's not really obvious what would happen when one party was aware of the peace agreement whereas the other was not because of the risk of deception.

My question is:
What were the regulations in the Western navies of the 18th and 19th century for the situation when the enemy somehow communicated the claim that peace or ceasefire agreement was signed?

Note that I'm not asking what was possible and reasonable to do in that situation, rather what the commanding officer was expected to do according to the regulations so that his actions would be considered neither a violation of his duty with risk of being court-martialed nor a breach of freshly signed peace.


texts:
To what extent did the bureaucratic structure of the state that were required to sustain the Ottoman’s wealth and power undermine (damage or weaken) the foundations of the Ottoman state in the late 19th and 20th centuries?

The Ottoman Empire's bureaucratic structure meant that any new territories would have to follow the Sultan and would have to pay taxes. The more the Ottoman Empire invaded, the bigger and more powerful the nation got.

Since the Empire expanded its power by allowing its territories to maintain their identities if they acknowledged the Ottomans as the ruling power (and paid taxes) these local areas were given autonomy.

Was the religious and cultural diversity a core structural cause of the Ottoman Empire's decline?


texts: What was Ghulam Ahmad's relationship with the British authorities in India?

texts:
An answer on Islam.SE claims,

  Ghulam Ahmad came out at a time when the British were trying to take over India, and they needed someone to stop the Muslims from fighting, and so bribed this man to assist them.

Wikipedia similarly states,

  After his death, opponents accused him of working for the British Government due to the termination of armed Jihad, since his claims of being the Mahdi were made around the same time as the Mahdi of Sudan (Muhammad Ahmad).

But I haven't seen any actual evidence that Ghulam Ahmad was working for the British. Does such evidence exist? I also don't really understand the (unsourced) connection Wikipedia is making between the "termination of armed Jihad" and his claims being "made around the same time as the Mahdi of Sudan," so if answers could shed more light on that connection that would be cool as well.


texts: Is there any evidence that the fall of the Tibetan empire led to an increase in Buddhism?

texts:
According to this Wiki page, "a basket of Buddhist scriptures arrived in Tibet from India" in the 5th century and were translated sometime around 618-649. Tibetan Buddhism reached it's peak "with royal patronage" around 817-836.

The Tibetan Empire lasted from about 618-842.

My question is, was the state religion during the imperial period the traditional Bön religion or was it already Buddhism?

(Is there any evidence that the fall of their empire led to an increase in the practice of Buddhism?)


texts: Nazi Germany - Income of low-wage workers, and prices of food and other items?

texts:
I'm trying to write a fictional piece in which the main character is an unemployed Jew, searching for jobs on the streets. Assume that he (the character) finds a temporary low wage job to do, like cleaning or helping out with things, not by actually getting employed.

How much would a small low-wage job in Nazi Germany have paid (in German Marks, the currency in the time of Nazi Germany)? This piece takes place in 1935, after the hyperinflation of Germany. Prices should be relatively stable and regular.
What were the average prices of basic food staples, like bread/meat/milk and common items?

I need a sense of what and how many common items could a temporary low-wage German worker buy with their income.


texts: Why wasn't the American civil war fought between slaves and masters?

texts:
If the American civil war was about liberating the slaves, then it might make sense to expect the war to have been fought between slaves and their masters. In theory, the slaves should be the ones fighting for their own freedom. However, both sides of the warring parties were primarily non-slaves.

Why couldn't slaves do more for themselves? And why did the non-slaves fight so hard for the slaves' freedom?


texts: Were the greatest rulers from before the Classical Antiquity known by ancient historians?

texts:
To clearly delimit dates and places, I ask for information about the rulers before 1000 BC in the Fertile Crescent or Eastern Mediterranean. Historians may be Greek, Roman, or peoples belonging to the Hellenistic world, such as Egyptians (Maneto), Chaldeans (Berosus) or Jews (Josephus).

I am thinking of leaders like Sargon of Akkad, Hammurabbi, Tuthmoses III or Ramses II. They were extremely famous in their time and comparatively almost as powerful as the Great Kings of Achaemenid Persia only a few centuries later, but I dont find texts from the classic antiquity that speak of them.

The Bible alludes to the city of Pi-Ramesses, but the other pharaohs that it names are much more modern: Taharka, Nechao, Shoshenk, all belong to the last years of an independent Egyptian kingdom, about 600 BC. The Bible also contains no clear allusions to rulers of other empires prior to David and Solomon. There is a "Nimrod" in the Genesis who may be an Assyrian king called Ninurta from 1200 BC but may also be an Assyrian god with the same name.

Maneto, an Egyptian priest, is quite accurate in his list of pharaohs and quotes several Ramesses but the Egyptian priests who talked to Herodotus seem to remember that a Pharaoh called Sesostris (Senusret III) was far more powerful than Ramses II or Tuthmosis III, something that is not true.

I have not been able to find useful information in Berossus, which seems the most mythological of all.


texts: How old was Bagoas when he met Alexander the Great?

texts: And what was the ethnicity of Bagoas? As I know, there were many different people's and tribes, that populates Achaemenian Empire. And also there was extended slave trade with foreign nations.


texts: Where did United States colleges rank internationally during the 19th century?

texts:
I have read that the USA was far behind Europe until maybe the 1930s. But just what were the limitations of US colleges prior to that?

EDIT: I realize there was unlikely to have been any published ranking but we would I think get a sense of the limitations of US schools by seeng how many Americans went overseas to study and/or how often someone from Europe would choose to study in the USA. Also what was said about US schools.


texts: Why did not M.K. Gandhi support plea towards suspension of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev's execution?

texts:
It was a known fact and most of the historians state that there was a clash of opinions, ideologies between these two individuals - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (M.K. Gandhi) and Bhagat Singh, where MK Gandhi was in support of Non-Violence to Freedom and Bhagat Singh was in support of Rebellion (I would prefer calling it Rebellion, instead of calling it Violence)

It was shocking to see that there aren't any valid attempts made to plea (to the British government) for the suspension of execution. There are vague references on this site that there were attempts made by Mr. MK Gandhi towards a plea on suspension of execution of these martyrs trio (Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev).

Are there are any valid references other than what I've stated, as I consider it  an attempt only to clear Gandhi's name and the criticism around this issue.

I would appreciate if there is any valid citation that talks about this matter other than the vague attempts to convey this point, in any of the bio-pics, biographies of Late Bhagat Singh.


texts: Why did Icelandic begin to diverge from the Continental north Germanic languages specifically between 1050 and 1350?

texts:
According to wikipedia:

  Between 1050 and 1350 Icelandic began to develop independently from other Scandinavian and Germanic languages;

Why did it begin then? Iceland was being settled from 874.

Did immigration from Scandinavia decrease dramatically (If so, why?)? Did something in the political climate in Iceland or Scandinavian change dramatically? Did the formation of the Icelandic Commonwealth enable the island to act with much more cultural autonomy?


texts: Was the Kerensky Offensive doomed from the start?

texts:
I've been reading about Russia in the Great War during 1917, and what is quite surprising for me is the Kerensky Offensive. Primarily, what is surprising is that the army was in great material terms by summer: "better prepared than at any time during the war" as described here. In light of this, was the Russian preparation of their troops done to the utmost they could given the circumstances or had they left some obvious preparations incomplete? Is there anything the General Staff (either before or after Brusilov replacing Alekseyev) thought they lacked? Were the Russians aware of how prepared the Germans were to repel them?
Russian motivation for the attack is described:

A concerted offensive had been planned at Allied conferences starting in late 1916. In June 1917 the coalition launched the attack, believing action could strengthen Russia’s diplomatic hand, secure Allied credits, and halt the breakdown of order in the army and the country’s interior.

The operation failed after initial successes against the Austro-Hungarians in the south when the Germans transferred troops and counter-attacked—essentially steamrollering across the Russian front and causing the collapse of numerous armies. In one of the articles, it also said that the Russian failure to attack in the north and south at the same time was fatal to the success of the mission but I've not seen that mentioned elsewhere (and the cause of the delay wasn't described).
Worsening weather conditions are also noted as one of the reasons the attack failed and the retreat ended up so poorly though not by other sources. Most other descriptions blame the Revolution which had sapped the morale of the soldiers who were no longer motivated.
Changes in leadership are also mentioned as being particularly hurtful to the Russians (all errors from the original):

Although the army officers held different attitute about the feasibility of the offensive, none of
them ever questioned the necessity of Russia's continuous, active role in the WWI. Even the pessimist
officers would agree that the defensive operations were to be only transient until morale and
discipline were fully reestablished. However, Kerensy could not wait. Determined to implement
the offensive as , Kerensky replaced the cautious Alekseyev with the bold and aggressive Brusilov
on May 22.

This makes it sound as if the attack was more a political decision than a military one—Brusilov's optimistic attitude about the assault succeeding is noted as being based on false premises in the paper:

As historian R. Feldmen pointed out, Brusilov arrived at his conclusion largely based on misinterpretation of the soldiers' revolutionary zeal as enthusiasm to continue the war. Indeed, as observed from the documents of soldiers voices during mid-1917, their opinions on the war divided widely.

At the same time, of course, in Petrograd the very thought of attacking Germany in another offensive was anathema to numerous Revolutionary cliques who turned it by default into a political issue. However, the Entente also wanted a Russian advance to occur as had been promised in 1916.


texts: Do we know of any literature before Greek philosophy that discusses the properties of a living thing?

texts:
I have been reading up on the first written works of literature leading up to philosophy as we understand it today. I am having a hard time to establish a clear time-line which leads up to the discussion on the properties of life, that is, what makes something living as opposed to non-living.

Being a student of computer science this is far out of my field of expertise. However, from preliminary research, the first works I came across is of course the Epic of Gilgamesh. The only part that sort of fits is where the man searches for the secret to eternal life. After that I am more or less lost since the next obvious option appears to be Akkadian literature but none of it seems to fit.

I would appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction.

Full Disclosure:
I am including this in an assignment where I need to discuss the origin of the term 'life'. I thought a historical perspective might be illuminating for the reader.


texts: Impact of the spread of disease from non-Europeans to virgin populations in the Old World

texts:
It is well known that Europeans brought a host of different diseases to the Americas. This led to catastrophic declines in the indigenous populations.

I am looking for documentation of non-Europeans coming in contact with virgin populations, and if contact resulted in similar drops in population.  The virgin population problem is summarized here:

  Virgin soil epidemic is a term coined by Alfred Crosby, defining it
  as epidemics "in which the populations at risk have had no previous
  contact with the diseases that strike them and are therefore
  immunologically almost defenseless".

I know that the American continent was unique in a number of respects and, as a result, the magnitude of the population declines are unlikely to be found elsewhere, but I would argue that a drop in population of 10 or 20 percent still constitutes a large drop in population.

The biggest contenders I think would be populations living on islands situated close to Africa or Eurasia but if anyone is aware of any other isolated populations I would welcome those answers as well.

I found an example of a small pox outbreak in Japan, 735-737.

  In 735 (C.E.) a serious epidemic, almost certainly smallpox, began in
  the seaport region of Dazaihu on the north coast of the Japanese
  island of Kyushu...It may have been carried from Kyushu to Honshu by
  the returning party of an emissary who had planned to negociate better
  relations with Korean states. When he died en route his party returned
  to Honshu, spreading smallpox through the Inland Sea area as they
  went.

I am asking about similar outbreaks happening between the Asian mainland and other islands (e.g. Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, etc), but I can't find any examples.


texts:
why were Hoplite shields circular?  Given that humans are much taller than they are wide even taking into account that the shield has to protect the person to their left the horizontal to vertical ratio seems to be off and the hoplites legs seem to be badly defended.

In the Greek Persian wars didn't they end up hanging a heavy cloth at the bottom of their shields anyways why not just make the  shield longer?

Separate point wouldn't the hoplite be vulnerable to attack in the legs from opposing phalanxes? sure they had their leg greaves but basically isn't any defense only as good as it's weakest point?


texts: How did the existence of the Alps impact the development of Switzerland?

texts: Can anyone tell me what was the role of Alps and Alpine region in Swiss development of Switzerland?


texts: Why do some countries call Germany "Alman" too?

texts:
In Persia, Germany is called "Alaman". In Portugal it's called "Alemanha".

I know some other countries in the world call it 'Alman' too

Why the name changed?


texts: Was the idea behind what would become the Holocaust planned by German elites in that time?

texts: Can anyone provide references that point to the Holocaust being motivated not only by Hitler but also by German elites at that time?


texts: How much is one 1945 German Mark to one 2016 Euro?

texts: Is there a way to figure out the exchange rate of one 1945 German mark to a 2016 Euro and/or U.S. dollar? (edited)


texts:
What caused the shift from annexation of territory, to colonization of territory?

I've been thinking about this for some time, but can't come to any definite conclusions as my knowledge in history isn't broad enough.

Definition of annexation:

  the action of annexing something, especially territory.

Definition of colonization:

  the action or process of settling among and establishing control over
  the indigenous people of an area.

I think the cause might revolve around this idea:

  “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
  (Art of War)

Annexation is more straight forward, hence a nation invades->occupies another nation with the "open" intention of annexing its territory, subduing its people and plundering its resources.

Colonization is more deceptive (based on my limited knowledge) as there is no annexation (reduces the risk of revolt from local population), and no "open" intention of invasion->occupation->subduing of local population->plunder of resources.

Is my assumption correct? As I said before, my knowledge in history is not very broad, so I might be very off the mark. I would love a thorough answer.

Thanks,


texts: Why were Sri Lanka and Myanmar separated from India under the British Empire?

texts: Historically, the British integrated their holdings in India into the British Raj. Sri Lanka and Myanmar were also part of the British Empire in India. Sri Lanka is moreover culturally similar to India. Then why were these countries separated from British India?


texts: Why did France surrender so quickly during ww2?

texts: A few of my students were making fun of France's surrender to Germany during WW2. So this made me wonder why France would surrender only after a week. They had a pretty good army. They could have put up more of a fight, but why not?


texts: Why did the French Army melt film during WWI?

texts:
I have just watched the film Hugo which is in part a telling of the life of Georges Méliès. Part of the film is that he sold his films which were then melted down to make heels for shoes. I did some research on this aspect as it seemed very odd, and found out it was true!

  During the war, the French army confiscated over four hundred of Star Films original prints, melted them down to recover silver and celluloid, the latter of which the army made heels for shoes.

Which again strikes me as odd... Was there really that much silver in celluloid in the film prints to make any type of difference in a war effort? It seems that a film would weigh less than 30 pounds (and that is for an hour movie, and Melies' longest film appears to be 44 minutes). Even if all 500+ films were destroyed, this would only give (on the generous side) 15,000 pounds. I would figure the valuable commodity here is the silver, and I would expect there are not large amounts of it in film.

I know all sort of odd things happen during war time, but why would the army destroy works of art just for the raw materials?


texts: What was the place of a catapult in a formation

texts: My question is where would you usually keep a catapult on a battlefield. It feels as if you shouldn't keep it in the rear back of the army since it won't reach the target, and also you want to have as much backward mobility to reinforce where there are weaker parts of the army. Don't you have it in the middle of the army instead? And when you defend a castle with catapults outside and an army. Should it be the second line after the cavalary, or have the catapults next to the wall. Any explanation would be great.


texts: Did Nazi party members request exemption for their pre-war Jewish acquaintances?

texts:
So I heard this tale from a teacher many years ago, but cannot find much about it on the internet.
The story as far as I remember is as follows:
That Goebbels complained on many occasions about the sheer number of requests his office was receiving from "loyal Nazi party members" in which the sender requested some sort of exemption from "the final solution" for one and only one 'exceptionally decent' Jewish acquaintance.
Is there any historicity to this tale?


texts: How compare the rights and conditions of the American slaves to those of Russian serfs?

texts: How compare the rights and conditions of the 19-th century American slaves to those of the 19-th century Russian serfs?


texts: Were the Japanese "Kongo" class battlewagons advanced for their time?

texts:
Built in the early 1910s, Japan's Kongo class battlecruisers had eight 14-inch guns, a speed of about 30 knots, and a displacement of about 26,000 tons. This gave them advantages over British contemporaries such as the Orion class battleships (ten 13.5-inch guns, 21 knots and 22,000 tons displacement), but perhaps less so compared to the Revenge class battleships, which had eight 15-inch guns, 30,000 ton displacement, and 21 knots.
In the 1930s, the Kongos were upgraded to battleships by the addition of armor that increased their displacements to 32,000 tons. A source that I read rated them as being "comparable to the newer battleships of the King George V class (built during the treaty-busting rounds of the late 1930s. That seems like an exaggeration, because the King George Vs had 25% more guns (ten 14-inchers versus 8) and 30% more displacement, but were slightly slower (28 knots).
Even so, is it fair to say that the Kongo class battleships were more nearly like the King George V's built 25 years later than their peers of the Orion and Revenge classes? Put another way, how much more (or less) difficult was it to produce the superior speed of the Kongos compared to the greater heaviness of the Revenges and the King George V given the industrial technologies that were available in 1910-1915 versus 1935-1940?
My specific belief is that "speed" was harder to achieve in 1910-1915 than "heaviness," whereas "speed" was much easier to achieve by 1935. Am I right or wrong?


texts: Has there ever been any examples of persecuted people hiding treasure in British churches before they flee somewhere?

texts: (I'm writing an historical fiction story.) Have there been cases of persecuted people who hid their wealth in a church? Who would they be? Who are they fleeing persecution from? Why were they being persecuted? Where did they try to escape to?


texts: Is this article on Nero even remotely accurate?

texts:
Weev's livejournal Some of the problems in this article is that while Nero was blond and blue eyed it ignored that he was spotted and potbellied not to mention a known sexual deviant.
The claims in this article is that he was a strong supporter of Democracy...is this even accurate?


texts: Is there a timeline showing the various (known) religions and their birthdates?

texts:
I'm trying to establish origins for the worlds major religions, but eager to research some minor ones as well. I am hoping to find a correlation between several religions based on the timetable of their origins. Many of the ancient civilizations just stole gods from earlier civilizations and I would like to have something I can reference that shows this.

I'm operating under the assumption that some historians have tracked and monitored religions as a meme and that I'm not the only one who would find such a timeline useful.

As for sects and denominations I would treat them each as their own religion for the purpose of the timeline I am searching for, but I would welcome even a timeline that didn't differentiate at this level.


texts: What was the term to serve for 1861 confederate volunteers?

texts:
March 6, 1861 Confederate Congress act:

"The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That... the President be, and he is hereby authorized to employ the militia, military and naval forces of the Confederate States of America, and to ask for and accept the services of any number of volunteers, not exceeding one hundred thousand, who may offer their services... to serve for twelve months after they shall be mustered into service, unless sooner discharged.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the militia, when called into service by virtue of this act or any other act, if in the opinion of the President the public interest requires, may be compelled to serve for a term not exceeding six months after they shall be mustered into service, unless sooner discharged"

Sec. 1 states twelve month, Sec. 2 - six month.
What was the real one, intended by this act? I know that in reality  confederates were eventually serving till the war end, but my question is exclusively for this act.
Sorry if question looks silly, but English is not my native language (especially century and a half old English)


texts: Who Was The Last Head Of State To Participate In Battle While In Office?

texts:
Many historical heads of state, e.g., Charlemagne (ca. 800 CE), Henry V (ca. 1413-1422 CE), George Washington (as head of state during the Revolutionary War ca. 1776 CE), and Napoleon (late 18th and early 19th century), sometimes led their armies into battle and fought side by side with their soldiers in the field of battle.
It remains common for monarchs and Presidents to have had military service prior to becoming a head of state.
For example, U.S. Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Kennedy were war heroes, and Prince William, who is second in line to British thrown, like most of his predecessors, served in combat missions in the military.
But, somewhere along the line, heads of state stopped joining soldiers in battles while serving as head of state, even though many are formally "commanders in chief" of the military.
When was the last time that a currently serving head of state personally participated on a battlefield alongside his soldiers in combat (and not a mere assassination attempt or as a visitor to a war zone not intending to participate in combat)?


texts: What did a train ticket cost on a 1940 Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe train?

texts: I would like to find out the cost of a train ticket on the Santa Fe & Topeka railroad around 1940, from Alpine Texas to Santa Fe via El Paso.


texts: How did the French and English forces "stack up" toward the end of the Hundred Years' War?

texts:
I am of the opinion that Joan of Arc, an "amateur" general, started France on the road to winning the war because she understood something that the "professionals" did not; that is, that the French army was fundamentally better despite the earlier English victories, and that "all" that was needed to win was for France to fight the right battles.

My understanding is that the French had better artillery, a multiple of the number of English troops, and as a result, a wider range of weaponry for "combined arms" operations. The English had superiority in only one area, the long bow, which they had used to devastating effect at Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt. England's alliance with Burgundy mitigated, but did not eliminate, the French advantages.

The above is the general sense that I have, but my knowledge its a bit sketchy. Can anyone describe the French vs. English advantages with a greater degree of "granularity?" And if so, is it fair to say that Joan's gift was realizing that the French could win, under any reasonably competent "combined arms" commander (which she had behind her) even more than understanding how they could win? That is, of course, if the French could avoid battles and situations where the English long bow would show to advantage.


texts: What is the origination of the Forlorn Hope?

texts: Going back to a comment I had made in the question on What were the types of sieges something I had seen often referred to in the Bernard Cornwell Sharpe series was the Forlorn Hope.  Basically these were the soldiers who were first through a breach in the wall, a sort of suicide attack on a well defended position the typical result of this attack was the death of most groups involved.  In the Sharpe series it results in him being promoted at least once.  Going beyond the fictional account I am curious as to what the origination on this is.


texts: I have a photograph of a relative in uniform, likely from the 1800's. He's listed as a corporal. Any ideas as to the time period for this uniform. On the back of the photograph is written, "corporal Harry Adamson, K 4th o v


texts: When and how did people begin to consider slavery immoral?

texts:
Consider this: In the ancient world, murder and theft were prohibited. However, slavery was ubiquitous and considered normal. AFAIK, nobody thought of it as immoral, though probably some called for kind treatment of slaves.

So when did people start talking of the very institution of slavery as immoral and demanding its abolition? And how did they justify that? Obviously, since they had to convince others of their point of view, they couldn't just say "We hold this truth to be self-evident".

I know that the Church prohibited slavery in the early centuries of its existence (but then allowed owning non-Christian slaves).


texts: Was there any influence between the Gracchus reforms and the end of the republic?

texts:
In the BBC series about six critical moments in Ancient Roman history, the earliest episode is about Tiberius Gracchus. They say that, although his reforms were not successful, they initiated a process that eventually lead to the end of the republic with the rise of Julius Caesar. They do not explain this connection.
Is there any influence between the Gracchus reforms and the end of the republic?


texts: Why did life expectancy decline sharply in 16th century England?

texts:
I was checking historical life expectancy and found the chart shown below in Roser, Ortiz-Ospina, Ritchie, 2013.
What was the reason for such a dramatic decline in life expectancy in England in the middle of the 16th century?
Is this just a data glitch or was there a major war or plague at that time? I could not find anything that would explain such a dramatic decline.

Roser M., Ortiz-Ospina E., Ritchie H. Life Expectancy:  OurWorldInData.org, 2013. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy' [Online Resource]


texts: During the Peninsula War, what British material aid was given to Spain/Portugal?

texts:
The Peninsular War saw France intervene on the Iberian Peninsula, first against Portugal, then against Spain. It lasted roughly from 1808 - 1814.

I would like to know what material Britain gave to Spain and Portugal during this time. Muskets, powder, cannons, food? What trade price did they ask, or was it given freely? Did Britain give it to the regular armies, or also the guerrillas?

Edit: I'm aware the Portuguese leadership fled and the only proper army in Iberia was British. But there was guerrilla fighting all over Iberia (Portugal and Spain). Surely the guerrillas must have asked the British for arms/food? If the British really didn't give anything to them, then the answer would be "no", preferably with a source.


texts: Has there ever been a successful "Anarchy"?

texts:
By definition anarchism advocates a stateless society, so I guess I can't be talking about an Anarchist State or Country so I will just use state of anarchy (with no negative connotation).

In any place that has been exposed and converted to an organised, hierarchical society, has there ever been a successful return or conversion to anarchy? By successful I mean a state of anarchy that persisted for at least a few generations and where the inhabitants were able to live decently in relative security. So this would exclude little 'social experiments' that didn't last.

In the absence of one or more successful anarchies, what are/were the most promising ones?

EDIT:
As pointed out in the comments, any answer to this question may be subjective and depend on the interpretation of stateless.

I won't consider implicit agreements to be a form of government (like being nice to people hoping they'll be nice to you in return).

Obeying special people like elders and religious figures would be considered a form of government, unless there is no punishment for going against their opinions and they are merely looked up to as being worthy of attention.

Also I would like to point out that I am talking about a conscious educated decision to move towards an anarchist society. As such tribes who have arguably been in that state since the dawn of man or societies that have ended up in that state as a result of war or other breakdown of their society do not count.


texts: How common is nostalgia for the colonial perod in countries which gained independence in the 20th century?

texts:
Having spent most of my life in Eastern Europe, I observe that a lot of people have at least some nostalgic feelings toward the era of Soviet occupation. Of course, personal freedom, free speech etc. was suppressed, you could have ended up arrested and beaten by police for possessing the wrong book, listening to the wrong radio station, or telling the wrong joke while your neighbor tattled on you... but if you were not interested in political freedom, you could have a nice and carefree life. Eating meat, getting fuel for your car, etc. were rare luxuries, but everyone had a job, when graduating you could be 100% sure you can get a job which will last until your retirement, everyone had access to free education, health-care, and retirement, so, in general, you had increased safety in exchange for reduced liberty, in comparison to the current situation. High corruption and economic crises now tend to make people feel nostalgic for the bygone era.

Are there similar effects in countries in Africa and South-East Asia which gained independence during the 20th century? In many of these countries there is famine, crime, poverty, high political corruption and sometimes even civil war. For example, by saying like "well, under the British or the French, we had less freedom but at least they imposed order, built roads and hospitals which are now falling apart because the current government doesn't care, etc." I'm not talking about wanting the occupiers back, because also in Eastern Europe the nostalgia is not about bringing back the Soviet military occupation and the gulags, but about some advantages of the past system which they miss today. Even some of the Biblical Jews wanted to return to Egypt where they were slaves but had roofs above their heads, compared with being free but having to wander around in the wastelands.

Searching for the term "colonial nostalgia" leads mostly to discussions about people in the colonial powers being nostalgic, not people of the colonies.

Are there such nostalgic tendencies in those countries, and how much significance do they have?


texts: Why Nawab Shirajuddawla lost in the battle of Palashy (Plassey)?

texts:
I know that Nawab had 50000 soldier but on the other side English soldier was 3000 and I also know that because Mir Zafar and some other guys Nawab lost the battle.

My question is only for Mir Zafar and the betrayer of Nawab  did Nawab lost the battle inspite of having 50000 soldier ? Actually my book always mention that only for some specific person Nawab lost the battle is it true ?


texts: Adapting clothes, weapons, tools and customs from other nations in the middle ages - judging plausability

texts:
Background

Im into historical reenactment and and a member of a "knights brotherhood" (couldnt find a percise translation of the term "bractwo rycerskie").

We are trying to recreate the material culture of the past, in our particular case, XIV and XV centuries. We are trying to be as accurate as possible, basing our reconstructions on academic papers and articles, archeological findings etc. We encounter big problems tho.

Findings of complete set of clothes or armor, especially from day to day use are practically non-existant. Most of what we have are single items scatterd around whole europe, often partial, half rusted/rotted away. Iconography and statuses from those times can be misleading, often are symbolic, we dont know what is a true depiction and what is just the artists fantasy.

This makes making a complete reconstruction very hard. We often "borrow" elements of garments or equipments from slightly different places or times ti fill in the blank holes. We also have problems with the "popularity" of certain solutions. For example, we may see a soldier in hourglass gauntlets on an icon. Still, we have o problem - how popular was such equipment among soldiers? Did half of them have those, or just 1/100? I mean in general, not in a single unit. Sometimes documents from the past help us, for example bills from castles for equipment for their guards (sorry, im having problems translating such history-specific terms to english), but still the problem remains.

Question
Id like to have some experts advice or scientific articles on how to judge whether borrowing a piece of material culture from another region would be acceptable and result in a trustworthy reconstruction (one that has versimilitude). Can I "borrow" a helmet used in England for a Polish soldier, or should I refrain to using only one of the two (this is only an example ofc) actually found in Poland? How to make a good judgement call on such a matter?


texts: Did the Roundheads/Commonwealth of England receive any ideological sympathy abroad?

texts:
Were any of the various republican ideas or factions in the time of the English Civil War/Commonwealth of England given any support by people elsewhere in Europe?

I know the rest of Europe was busy with its own wars at the time, so intervention from abroad was basically out of the question. When foreigners did take an interest in Britain's internal war, every example I have heard is condemnation for rebelling against their king.

However, there were a lot of republics in Europe at the time, notably the Dutch republic and the city-republics of Italy. Did any politicians in Britain look to them for an example, and did any of them see something of themselves in any of the varying forms of government tried from 1642 to 1660?


texts:
We have all heard of the Plague Doctors, but is there any information on the Treatments that they offered the sick? I have looked at the work of
Guy de Chauliac but I have been unable to find a copy of his work that isn't in Latin and my Latin is far too rusty. :)


texts: How effective were peace walls in Northern Ireland at reducing violence?

texts:
During the Troubles, a series of peace walls (or lines) were erected mostly in Belfast but also in some other towns separating mostly Catholic from mostly Protestant neighborhoods under a stated purpose to reduce violence.

While I'd like to leave ethical implication of such barriers outside the scope of this inquiry, my questions is: Are there metrics to attest to the effectiveness of those walls/fences in actually reducing violence? I understand it's impossible to accurately ascribe any change in social metrics, such as violence rate, to any single policy (correlation is not causation) but some high level comparison before and after can be made as a heuristic in gauging effect.


texts: Where are official images and metadata of cave paintings housed?

texts:
I have seen a few cave paintings at the British Museum and a couple other museums, but not very many and only of specific types. I also saw Lascaux (French International Center for Cave Art) which doesn't have anything online, and the Bradshaw Foundation which sounded like it would have a lot of pieces ("rock art archives" of many types), but the images are of low quality and they don't seem to be formalized / documented like a museum would have it, it is more a personal collection it seems.

In the same way that there are many places that host many manuscripts, I am wondering if there are any standard places that host images/records on cave paintings / rock art.


texts: When did SHAEF / Eisenhower move HQ from London to France during WWII?

texts:
SHAEF meeting in London 1944

Two different reputable sources indicate two different time frames for SHAEF's move from London to Versailles:

The Military Agency Records of the National Archives indicates "SHAEF was located at London until August 1944; at Versailles, France, August 1944-May 1945; and at Frankfurt, Germany, May-July 1945."
Wikipedia cites noted military historian Stephen E. Ambrose (Citizen Soldiers, Simon & Schuster, 1997, p. 199) as SHAEF having moved from London to Versailles "by December, 1944" (four months after the date indicated in the National Archives).

Which (if either) is correct - and can additional substantiating documentation be cited?


texts:
A Wikipedia page describes Russification of Poland:

Russification in Congress Poland intensified after the November Uprising of 1831, and in particular after the January Uprising of 1863. In 1864 the Polish and Belarusian languages were banned in public places; in the 1880s Polish was banned in schools, on school grounds and in the offices of Congress Poland. Research and teaching of the Polish language, of Polish history or of Catholicism were forbidden. Illiteracy rose as Poles refused to learn Russian. Students were beaten for resisting Russification. A Polish underground education network formed, including the famous Flying University. According to Russian estimates, by 1901 one-third of the inhabitants in the Congress Poland was involved in clandestine education based on Polish literature. Starting in the 1840s Russia considered introducing Cyrillic script for spelling the Polish language, with the first school books printed in the 1860s; these attempts failed.

At the same time, Russification of Finland appears to have been much milder. The corresponding Wikipedia page makes no mention of any suppression of Finnish in schools and says that it is only in 1900 that Russian was made the language of administration in Finland. As a student learning the Russian language, I got curious to read the original, Russian version of the corresponding decree of 1900 and found there the following stipulation:

Вмѣстѣ съ тѣмъ приняты во вниманіе потребности частныхъ лицъ, коимъ и впредь обезпечена возможность обращаться въ правительственныя установяенія на родномъ языкѣ также свободно, какъ они имъ пользуются въ общественной жизни и частномъ быту.

My translation:

At the same time, we take into account the needs of private persons, who will continue to be provided with the opportunity to interact with administration bodies in the native language as freely as they use it in public and private life.

Why was Poland subject to much harsher Russification than Finland was? Both countries were included in the Russian empire at roughly the same time (1770-1810) and were located at its western border. So whence came the difference? Did Russian officials of that epoch say anything to shed light on that, or were there any obvious reasons?


texts: Why was there calm in Indian-held Kashmir until 1989? What happened in 1989 that triggered the public unrest that still continues to this day?

texts:
After the 1947-48 invasion of Kashmir by the Pakistan-backed jihadists and the ensuing military action by India, and the consequent take over of parts of Kashmir by Pakistan and India respectively, there seems to have followed a period of relative calm in the Indian-held Kashmir, which lasted for over four dacades. Am I right?

Or, have there also been periods of protests and separatist struggle in the Indian-held Kashmir during the period from 1948 to 1988, just like those that the state has witnessed since 1989?

However, in 1989, unrest began in Kashmir and the resulting military operations by the Indian government to quell the trouble, a cycle which has by and large persisted in the state ever since, with a varying degree of intensity. Is it not the case?

Now my question is, why is it that the Kashmiris (and their Pakistani backers) started their protests and separatist struggle after having remained passive for such a long time?

To buy the version of the Government of India, if it is Pakistan's mischief, then why is it that Pakistan has waited so long for making this kind of "mischief"?

What prompted this change in the approach of the Kashmiri militants / separatists and what prompted this change of their Pakistani supporters?

Or, is it some action(s) and / or shift in the policies of the Indian government post mid-to-late 1980s that led things to come to such a pass toward the end of that dacade?


texts:
Every English King from Edward the Confessor (d. 1066) to Edward IV (d. 1483) was in France at some point during their lives, almost all during their reigns, and some were born there.

These 'visits' by English Kings were often uninvited and unwanted (Henry I, Henry II, Edward III and Henry V being prime examples), and their frequency is easily explained by a number of factors, not least of which is that they held territories in France, and usually wanted more. However, not all these English visits were hostile: Richard II and Edward II (while kings) went there to get married, Harold II (before he became king) was shipwrecked, Edward I passed through on his way to and from the Holy Land.

Visits by French Kings to England (within the British Isles) were much less common - I've only found 4 (out of more than 30, starting with the Capetian Dynasty) for the entire medieval, early modern and modern periods: Louis VIII, John II, Louis XVIII and Charles X. There are several reasons for this, not least because they did not have any territories in England (that I know of). Of these, the only reigning monarch was John II, and he did not make the trip of his own free will: he was imprisoned in London during the Hundred Years War after being captured at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. Earlier, Louis VIII had led an abortive invasion of England during the reign of King John in 1216-17, but this was before he became king. The only other 'visitors' I've found are in the modern period, two of the exiled Bourbons who were later crowned Louis XVIII and Charles X.

Aside from the aforementioned monarchs, did any French kings ever set foot in England or any other part of the British Isles (either before or after becoming king)? Although I'm primarily interested in the medieval period, other answers would be of interest.

Note: For the purposes of this question, Henry VI of England doesn't count as a French King.


texts: What explains the large number of US Security Council vetoes between 1970-1991?

texts:
Here's the Wikipedia breakdown of Security Council vetoes

I understand that before 1970, the Soviet Union vetoed a large number of new member accessions because the USSR wanted the soviet republics to be individually admitted to the UN (and the other members didn't agree).

I also read that the Negroponte doctrine is responsible for a number of US vetoes in more recent times. But this is a post-2000 thing, if Wikipedia is correct. So, what explains the large number of US vetoes in the 1970-1991 time frame?


texts: Matchsticks were invented in 1805 . How did humans get fire in everyday lives before then?

texts: They would have needed fire to cook at least but how was it possible ?


texts: Why are Vikings singled out for raids in Britain and Ireland when records may indicate most raids were by local rulers?

texts:
The main (original) sources for the evidence cited here were written by monks and priests who have usually been cited by modern historians as being biased against Vikings.

However, recent research into raids on monasteries in Ireland seems to indicate that at least half the raids were not carried out by Vikings. This source quotes the following statistics:

  A.T. Lucas dispelled the notion that the Vikings alone were the despoilers of monasteries. He cited the fact that on the 309 occasions when ecclesiastical sites were plundered between the years 600 and 1163, the Irish were responsible for half of the attacks and in nineteen instances the Irish and Norse combined forces.

Another source (M & H. Whittock) says that, in Ireland between 795 and 820, only 26 of 113 attacks were carried by Vikings. The authors then add

  We should not expect anything different for
  Anglo-Saxon England. As early as the late seventh century,
  Aldhelm, abbot of Malmesbury (Wiltshire), had been forced to negotiate a special arrangement with the kings of Mercia
  and Wessex to prevent them targeting his monastery, since
  it was sited in a border zone between the two rival Christian
  Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

Although it is well established that the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms spent a lot of time raiding and fighting each other, much of the conflict between between kingdoms which led to the smaller ones being overrun by neighbours took place before the Vikings arrived on the scene. Thus, I'm wondering about M&H. Whittock's view that England was little different from Ireland.

Concerning the above, I have two supplementary questions to the main question:

Has there been a similar analysis of the Anglo-Saxon chronicles which will back up M & H. Whittock's assertion that "We should not expect anything different for Anglo-Saxon England", and has there been any statistical analysis of the Frankish chronicles?
The statistics refer to raids on ecclesiastical sites. Is there any indication in the chronicles / annals as to whether non-ecclesiastical sites were more or less likely to be attacked by Vikings than by local rulers?

My ideas on the answer to the main question include (1) chroniclers' descriptions of Viking raids 'accuse' them of being more vicious, (2) they were pagans so  that makes them the real bad guys, and (3) they were 'foreigners' i.e. let's blame the alien. However, I don't know to what extent any of these factors may be relevant.


texts: Was it impossible for the Germans to arrange a plane to East Asia for Subhas Bose?

texts: Bose's journey from Germany to Singapore by submarine was a well-remarked incident of World War II history. But what was the need for the Germans or the Italians to use a submarine to transfer a civilian? Was it impossible for them to arrange a flight? Or was it done to force Bose, whose relationship with Hitler was frosty, to make an uncomfortable and unsafe journey?


texts: Time of day first traffic light exploded

texts: The first traffic light was installed in December 1868 at Bridge Street, Great George Street and Parliament Street in London. It exploded on 2 January 1869. What time of day did it explode?


texts: How did the US abolition of slavery affect the cotton exports?

texts:
Plantations in Southern US produced cash crops, including cotton. How was the price and output of cotton in the Southern US affected shortly after the abolition of slavery at the end of the American Civil War?

I also understand that the textile industry spearheaded the industrial revolution in Britain, and it depended a lot on importing cheap cotton produced by plantations in the new world. If abolition changed the price or output of American cotton, did Britain switch to other sources of cotton, or did it continue importing from the US at the same level?


texts: What were the efforts made by the U.S. government to conserve forests?

texts: What were the efforts made by the U.S. government to conserve forests after World War 1 and World War 2? Was any special community or group made to complete this task? If yes then how did it conserve forests?


texts:
Why did The Crown give assent to Apartheid legislation during the 1950s?

For example, the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, Act No 49 of 1953 was assented to by the crown. The relevant law in the 1950s was the South Africa Act 1909 as amended by the Status of the Union Act 1934.

HV Evatt describes the situation as being that the Crown, being the King or Governor General, could only act on the advice of their ministers. (HV Evatt 1936, The King and His Dominion Governors, 298-300)


texts: Autobiographical books about the Atlantic war for WWII from the allied perspective

texts:
A long time ago I read Das Boot (which is the collection
of experiences as war correspondent in a U-Boat, it contains also
more gruesome depictions never mentioned in the movie).

I would like to know if there are similar (well-known ?)
autobiographical depictions for the allied side (submarine, destroyer).

I do not want propaganda kitsch or "we-are-so-tough", but
a truthful account what a seaman experienced on board on those ships.


texts: Why didn't China try to explore or colonize the Americas?

texts:
The Ming Dynasty had, reportedly, one of the largest navies in the world during the 15th and 16th centuries, which is when the "New World" was being "discovered" by Europeans. They also had made contact with European traders during this time, and had surely heard about the Americas that were being visited by the Spanish, English, French, etc.

Why did they never send any fleets across the Pacific and try to claim a piece of the "new" landmass that was being explored during this time?


texts: What are the earliest written accounts of Sub-Saharan Africa from the outside?

texts:
I've been researching African ethnography recently, and this path has led me to looking for early accounts of Sub-Saharan Africa. That they come from non-residents likely goes without saying, but I specify this as to not be Eurocentric.

I've done a bit of research to try to find out what and where these accounts may be, but I'm coming up empty-handed. So if I were to visit an academic library for the earliest, surviving written accounts of Sub-Saharan Africa, what would the title/author of these books be?


texts:
In Alistair Horne's Seven Ages of Paris, he gives a description of France's revolution in June of 1848. He says,

  Killed, too, were no fewer than five of Cavaignac's generals, as well as hundreds of unarmed citizens. Official figures-though these were almost certainly a gross underestimate-put the deaths at 914 among the government troops, and 1,435 for the insurgents. A police commissioner counted fifteen large furniture vans piled high with corpses; many were "shot while escaping," or summarily executed in the quarries of Montmartre or the Buttes-Chaumout in eastern Paris.

My question is: what is an 1848 furniture van? The first reference (I can find) to an internal-combustion engine in France is Nicéphore Niépce's in 1807, but it didn't seem to have a practical usage, and certainly not for furniture moving.  Was the furniture "van" horse drawn?


texts: How big were the biggest elections during the ancient era?

texts:
According to this question - Why did non-monarchic rule meet with so little success in ancient China?, elections in the ancient era were mostly conducted in city-states, due to feasibility, logistical and political reasons.

How were the big elections in the ancient era like? Any record about how big the biggest elections were, in terms of number of voters or in terms of geographic coverage? Let's define the ancient era as "from the beginning of recorded history (c. 4000 B.C.) until the fall of the Roman Empire (c. A.D. 500).", as defined in ancient-history


texts: Has any place exhumed more dead bodies than San Francisco?

texts:
San Francisco's cemeteries of the 1800s relied upon burial fees for maintenance, and so fell into disrepair when they filled up. Simultaneously, land became more expensive and public health fears proliferated, and in 1913 or 1914 the city ordered the cemeteries out, with two exceptions. Over a couple of decades, the remains of 130,000 or 150,000 people were moved to Colma (the U.S. has little or no tradition of grave reuse). Of course, the project did miss some graves.

Has any other project ever moved so many human remains? I've found this quite a challenge to look up. Most mass exhumations are of unitary mass graves, not removals of whole cemeteries.


texts: Did the Germans attempt the easier or harder of two possible objectives in the Caucasus?

texts:
During the summer and fall of 1942, German Army Group A advanced into the Caucasus pursuant to Fall Blau. This consisted of two armies, the First Panzer Army and the Seventeenth Army.

The advanced started (mostly) south from the Don, to the Maikop oilfields. After that, there were two possible ways to advance. One was "more east than south" to the Grozny oilfields, deep in the mountains, which was the one actually attempted. The other possibility was "more south than east," to and along the Black Sea coast, and along those lowlands to the Turkish border.

I am puzzled by this choice, from a strictly military, (as opposed to economic) perspective. Given the composition of Army Group A (heavy on armor), I would have chosen the southerly lowland route as my axis of advance. Was this, in fact, the more militarily "easy" target? Or was the coast so well defended that "Grozny" was actually the easier target?


texts: When did the use of chevrons as military rank devices begin?

texts: In US, Commonwealth and certain other militaries, the chevron is used as rank devices for non-commissioned members. I'm curious when did this practice start. Historically, up until and including the 19th Century, rank devices seemed to be differently colored or styled armor, clothing, headdress or other accoutrements.


texts: Why was there no "Atlantic Wall" equivalent on the Mediterranean coast of France?

texts:
During World War II, Germany built the Atlantic Wall, a series of fortifications covering the Atlantic coasts of France, the Low Countries, Norway, etc. But that effort didn't seem to extend to the south of France, that is, the Mediterranean coast. Why not?

Of note is the fact that the Atlantic Wall covered the coast of what had been "occupied" France (up to 1942), whereas the "unprotected south coast was part of (the former) Vichy France. Were there political reasons for not building a "Mediterranean Wall" in the south? Or was it the case that "Vichy" France was considered more defendable or less strategically important than "occupied" France?


texts: Why didn't cheese spoil when it was given as rations to soldiers?

texts:
I've come across many mentions of cheese when talking about rations for soldiers and those who would be hiking for long stretches of time. What kind of cheese would we be talking about? I'm mainly interested in either the Romans or Medieval Europe.

When I think of hard cheeses, they are stored in the fridge and still spoil after some time. Did they have extra small loafs of cheese which would last longer?


texts: Has there ever been a serious effort to reform the US Electoral College system?

texts:
There seems to be widespread feeling that the US Electoral College distorts the will of the people in presidential elections.  Of course, that ability was part of the reason that our founding fathers introduced the system.  But, ever since the rise of political parties and state laws restricting elector votes, the system doesn't do anything to provide the protections originally envisioned.

The major political parties don't seem to really want to get rid of the system for fear of causing unpredictable changes to their power.  While one side or the other grumbles about the results of particular elections, no changes that I'm aware of in recent years has been seriously pushed.

Have there been reform campaigns in the past (not counting the 12th Amendment)?  Why didn't they succeed?


texts: How was the sea route to Asia and the discovery of the New World prompted by the fall of Constantinople? And who discovered the new world?

texts: So I was reading a book in class and I stumbled across this question but I can not figure it out.


texts: What was Louise Bryant's view of the Soviet Union at end of her life?

texts:
American journalist and radical Louise Bryant (1885-1936), was, with her husband and fellow newspaper reporter John Reed, a sympathetic eyewitness to the 1917 October Revolution and beginning of the Communist regime, meeting most of its leaders. Both wrote favourable articles and books about it: Reed's 'Ten Days that Shook the World' and Louise Bryant's 'My Six Red Months in Russia'. The latter portrays the Bolshevik regime in its early months as genuinely idealistic, offering hope for the future, and while not a Western style democracy using only mild methods against its opponents. However, she then returned to live in the West, spending her last years in Paris.

John Reed died in 1920, probably too early to risk full disillusionment. However, Louise lived until January 1936, in the time of the famine caused by the forced collectivization of agriculture and on the eve of Stalin's Great Purge. By that time most of the leaders of the Revolution whom she had known (Bukharin, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Trotsky and the Left Socialist Revolutionary Marie Spiridonova) had fallen from power. We now know they were to be executed or murdered in the next few years by the orders of Joseph Stalin, a figure who had been around behind the scenes during the Revolution but so obscurely that in her contemporay writings about the Revolution Louise Bryant had not mentioned him.

Had she become disillusioned with the Soviet Union by then and did she have any sense of the frightening tyranny it was becoming?

By then she had retired from journalism, so Louise B was no longer writing opinion pieces about it. Such questions were possibly overshadowed for her by her divorce (having remarried after Reed's death) and health problems of her last years. Even so, she remained protective of the reputation and legacy of John Reed, who had believed in the Russian Revolution and Soviet Communism.


texts: Was there a race to patent the use of Freon as a home refrigerator coolant?

texts:
Thomas Midgely, Jr.'s hands were in two of the most detrimental scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century: the proliferation of leaded gasoline and the use of Freon (a chlorofluorocarbon) as a household refrigerant.
Recently a colleague suggested that there was another inventor or team working on a household refrigerant alternative at the same time as Midgley and his team, and that both were working to beat the other to patent their solution first.
I have spent a great deal of time researching Midgley and his legacy, and I never saw any mention of a 'race to the patent office.'
Is there any truth to this assertion? At the very least, was there even another team working on a solution?


texts:
Was the ancient Greek pharos light house of ancient Alexandria, Egypt capable of creating light beams like a modern flash light?
Lots of websites which also includes ones from schools, colleges, universities, and museums say this.

softschools
Wabash
Unmuseum
kidsgen
globalmarvels
jslandor

I just want to know if these are all true.
Please explain to me the physics and chemistry behind this light beam feat of the ancient Greek Pharos lighthouse of ancient Alexandria, Egypt.


texts: Was there a Roman city in the Plain of Sarajevo?

texts:
The established modern historical/archaeological opinion seems to be that the Plain of Sarajevo in Roman times contained mainly an intersection of roads and a bath installation (e.g. Wikipedia).

But the Austro-Hungarian and British archaeologists who excavated here in the Nineteenth century claimed that there was a major Roman city near the spring of the Bosna river (e.g. Roskiewicz, Studien über Bosnien und die Herzegovina, 1868, p. 176; Evans, Ancient Illyria, 1885, pp. 118-121; Asboth, Bosnien und die Herzegowina, 1888, pp. 16-20).

Besides the various archaeological remains, they also identify Ad Matricem on the Peutinger Map as this Roman city just north of the mountain source of the Narenta river.

The name, according to this line of reasoning, may refer to either the Bosna river or the nearby mines.

Edit: assuming that the size of the picture on the map reflects the relative size of the municipality, then Ad Matricem was bigger than the surrounding cities Narona, Taurunum, Singidunum, and Epidaurum.

Edit: matricem is the accusative singular form of matrix, which can mean "source" or "origin".

Edit: the river seems a much more obvious reference for the term. It is quite impressive that a decent size, fast-flowing river comes directly out of the mountain-side. I am not aware of any other similar spectacle, although it probably exists somewehere. The Roman mines around Sarajevo were not that big, and are not that close.

(The Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire claims that Ad Matricem is now some little village.)

Have not been able to find any modern, relevant sources on this topic in a language that I can read.

So was the great Roman city of Ad Matricem located in the Plain of Sarajevo?

Edit: added modern map.


texts: Is there a list of UN peacekeepers that ditched their posts?

texts:
7:48 of this video asseverates

  French peacekeepers are regularly shot at,
  becoming so intimidated that on one occasion they withdrew to their barracks, allowing Croatians to overrun their checkpoint.

Lieutenant-Colonel James  Calvin then speaks:

  In Sector South I would say that there was a large measure of distrust of the United Nations, because of the incident where the Croatians launched a major offensive and the United Nations forces that were in place at that time basically withdrew and left the Serbians who were basically unarmed...left them to their own devices.

Which French peacekeepers were these? Any more info on them?
Are such abandonments of their posts compiled somewhere online?


texts: What is the Greek inscription on the Nicaea gate?

texts:
I was visiting the historic city of Nicaea (Iznik) in Turkey this August and studied it's history.  I noticed the entrance gate at the southern wall of the city which was built by the Romans.
The same entrance gate was used by the Ottoman sultan Orhan 1 (Orhan Gazi) when he entered the city after a long siege in 1331ad.  The lower part of the gate has paintings of the sultan and his army celebrating the historic victory and event.  The photos are attached.

There is a Greek inscription in large type at the top.  Could someone who knows Greek translate this for me?


texts: Nazi Germany is widely called the Third Reich. But what were the First and Second Reich then?


texts: What is the earliest-known list of the Roman Principate?

texts:
I’m wondering what the earliest-known surviving list of the Principate (27BC-284AD) is. I’m also interested in what the earliest-known record that uses the term Principate to refer to that group of emperors is.

The earliest that the complete list could have been created was in or after 284AD.

My research so far: I have looked at wikipedia and don’t see anything about the first person/people to compile the list of Principate emperors. I have done some other searches and didn’t save any links to those when I looked.  I’ve checked the Ngram viewer on Google Books but that only goes back to 1500 for the earliest searchable year.

I don’t know the answer, but it’s something which I figured someone well-versed in Roman history would know.

Specifically and simply, I’m looking for the earliest surviving record, something tangible that can be looked at, that has the list of Roman emperors which are called the Principate.


texts: When historians look back on General Sherman's infamous "March to the Sea" what conclusions do they draw about his campaign? Do they interpret the evidence as indicating that Sherman's march did hasten or prolong the end of the Civil War?


texts: Australian towns / cities with Aboriginal names

texts:
Why were many Aboriginal names kept for town and place names in Australia including one of the first cities Parramatta:

  As a settlement developed, Governor Phillip gave it the name "Rose
  Hill" (now used for a nearby suburb) which in 1791 he changed to
  Parramatta, approximating the term used by the local Aboriginal
  people.

Considering that white settlers took Aboriginal people as inferior, why was this done in many places?


texts:
Mercantilism, which includes protectionism, industrial policy, capital controls, and other distortions to trade, is generally viewed by economists today as unsound economic policy.  An overwhelming majority of mainstream economists view trade restrictions as a net loss to society.  For example, the United States' depression-era Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act is widely viewed as having made the depression longer and deeper. As such, it would seem that most successful countries that have used trade barriers in their history became successful in spite of this policy rather than because of it.  Nevertheless, a small cadre of heterodox economists insists that protectionism and industrial policy can work.

Are there examples from history of countries that thrived because of their mercantilist policies?  I'm looking for proper historical examples at least 50 years old, which rules out "socialism with Chinese characteristics" and other modern successes for which we do not yet have the proper perspective to judge.


texts: Was the Weimar Republic referred to as such by contemporaries?

texts:
Recently I've noticed the tendency to refer to certain areas which were historically under that administration as the Weimar Republic (e.g.
Wikipedia: Helmut Kohl 'Born Helmut Josef Michael Kohl, 3 April 1930, Ludwigshafen, Bavaria, Weimar Republic')

I can understand the use as a historical marker - for instance in the way that one may refer to the French lands in 1900 as the Third French Republic, or the English lands in 1650 as being a part of the Commonwealth of England. However, I believe in both these cases a resident would say they lived in France, or England, not these terms.

Was the official name of the country the Weimar Republic, and did people (both inside and outside the borders) at the time that it existed call the lands it administered the 'Weimar Republic'?


texts: Could prisoners be pardoned in 1832 France under the July Monarchy?

texts:
For instance, could inspector Javert in "Les Miserables" have avoided his dilemma by asking for Jean Valjean to be pardoned by the French king and/or government?

Would the king and/or government have had that power in 1832 France?

Javert's Dilemma

  Javert [...] is caught between his
  strict belief in the law and the mercy Valjean has shown him. He feels
  he can no longer give Valjean up to the authorities but also cannot
  ignore his duty to the law. Unable to cope with this dilemma, Javert
  commits suicide by throwing himself into the Seine.

Source