texts: What type and size of paper, and corresponding to which modern font, would have been used for typewriters in 1896?

texts:
I am going to be doing a first-person performance of an 1896 lecture; the subject being "impersonated" (Mark Twain) sometimes carried sheaves of paper onto the platform; some of these sheets contained hand-drawn "hieroglyphics" to remind him of what he was going to talk about and in which order, but some probably contained type-written excerpts from his works.

To make the presentation as accurate and realistic as possible, what sort of paper should I use (thick stock, off white?); what size? 8.5 X 11, or something else?

Finally, what modern font would be similar to the typewritten characters of the day - Courier? What font size - 12?


texts: Why is former Portuguese flag similar to Finnish one?

texts:
What is the reason/story behind the look of one of the former Portuguese flags, which is extremely similar to Finnish current one?

Wikipedia dates the flag within 1095–1143 AD.

Nowadays, we can find this flag for example hanging on Castle of Guimarães.


texts: Was there any mention in historical articles regarding Joan of Arc's physical appearance?

texts: Modern media seems to portray Joan of Arc as a very attractive girl. I don't quite buy this interpretation of her as it would also suggest plenty of suitors and could be counter productive in a camp full of men frustrated at the state of their country. So was Joan of Arc really as attractive as modern media suggests, or was she just a plain peasant girl who managed to uplift a country?


texts: Why did ancient Egyptian sculpture Thutmose abandon his masterpiece Nefertiti bust?

texts: The Nefertiti bust is one of the most famous pieces of ancient Egyptian art that we have. It's thought to have been a master study for others to copy. The Nefertiti bust was discovered sitting on the floor of his ruined workshop in the early 1900s. When Thutmose left his home and studio thousands of years ago, why did he not take the Nefertiti bust with him?


texts: Which Confederate State provided the most troops in the American Civil War?

texts: Of all the states that elected to secede during the American Civil War, which one had the largest number of citizens who actually fought for the Confederacy? I would also be interested if anyone could find which state had the largest number of casualties.


texts: Where were Hindus and Sattagydia in the late Achaemenid Empire?

texts:
I found two maps that show territorial composition of Achaemenid Empire around 500 BC:

While there are other significant differences between them (because of historical sources scarcity), the most significant difference is that they have regions India (Hinduš) and Sattagydia (Thataguš) switched places. Which arrangement corresponds to an academic consensus?


texts: Did the Dominion of Newfoundland establish diplomatic missions?

texts: Before 1949 Newfoundland was a separate country from Canada and both Newfoundland and Canada were "dominions". In Canada the status of a "dominion" meant that it was an independent country except that its constitution could be amended only by the British Parliament, and in particular it sent and received ambassadors. Did Newfoundland also send and receive ambassadors?


texts: Can there be hidden ancient archives in Saudi Arabia?

texts: Muslims once translated many ancient Greek texts. Could it be that much more is preserved, but not available to the international historical community? Could they be kept in mosques in Saudi Arabia, or have they been searched by westerners during the colonization of the arab world after their defeat in the first world war?


texts: How did the Apollo-Soyuz test project affect the relationship between the USSR and USA during the cold war?

texts: Did the Apollo-Soyuz test project really impact the relationship of the the USA and USSR politically? And if so, in what way?


texts: What field guns, howitzers and mortars were used by the Indian Army and the Pakistan Army during the 1971 war?

texts: While the tank battles are better documented, the role of the field guns are not so well recorded (at least not in available documents). I know that 3.7 inch howitzers were part of the first artillery unit of the Bangladesh Army from this website. Beyond this it has been difficult to pinpoint the guns in action at that point of time.


texts: What was the value of the spice trade during the age of exploration?

texts: One of the initial motivations for the Europeans in sending exploration voyages was to find cheap spices. To be worth such expensive and risky mission, spices must have been worth a lot and must have had very high demand in Europe. How much, in today terms, were they worth? And what is the origin of such extraordinary demand? When and why did the price eventually drop?


texts: Has it ever been practice to clip to ratlines?

texts:
I am reading a story (alt history) where it describes climbing on a ship with the sailors:

pausing to clip their safety harnesses to the ratlines every few feet.

Now, I used to work on a tallship, and train people to go aloft.
One of the things we utterly stressed was never to do this.
Don't even put your hands on ratlines, only feet.
Clips need to go to secured points and safety lined.
Even if someone was doing something dodgy and clipping to something not rated (which of course noone ever did), the ratlines were one of the last possible choices.
As I understand it, historically there were no clipping on at all while climbing. And before that none at all ever.
And in the modern day, there are safety lines with moving ascenders and you don't clip to ratlines.
Was there an in between period, where people would clip to ratline, take a few steps, and clip to the next?


texts: What would have been the price of a loaf of bread in 1645 Amsterdam?

texts:
I want to know how much a loaf of bread would cost in Amsterdam in the year 1645.
Preferably I'd like the pricing of a bakery near the harbor but a comparison of the bread prices between the harbor bakeries and the bakeries in the rural backland of Amsterdam could be interesting.
I've searched online but I didn't find anything. Any help would be appreciated


texts: Why was World War I ended on Nov 11 11:00, rather than immediately upon signing the armistice?

texts:
The First World War ended on 11th Nov at 11:00. But my question is why? If peace has been agreed (The armistice was signed at 5:00), why not stop the fighting with immediate effect rather than have further pointless deaths?

I know that communications wouldn't have been as quick as now, but they had to let their men know to stop fighting at 11:00, so why not just say "stop fighting now"?


texts: Is The King (2019) historically realistic?

texts:
The King (2019) by Netflix is about king Henry V.

A few aspects of the movie struck me as either unbelievable, or contradicting what little even I know about history.

In no particular order:

The king holds the right of life and death over his subjects (sentencing two to death, and killing another without a trial). This is two centuries after Magna Carta.
Henry V walks over to the French camp to challenge their leader to single combat (where they could simply take him prisoner)
The French commander visits the invading English (where they could take him prisoner)
The unimposing size of some knights (including Henry V). For the kind of fighting that's depicted in this movie (MMA in armor, at times), I feel like smaller guys would be at a huge disadvantage.

Are these aspects historically realistic? Is there anything else in the movie that seems wrong?


texts: What is the earliest recorded example of an extradition treaty or law?

texts:
While reading a news article on someone being extradited from overseas to face justice in the U.S. it started me thinking about the history of the extradition process.  Wikipedia and The History Vault both mention extradition (also known as rendition) as being ancient concepts. Wikipedia dates it back to the 13 century BCE:

  when an Egyptian Pharaoh, Ramesses II, negotiated an extradition treaty with Hittite King, Hattusili III.

The History Vault also cites Ramses II, but hints at more about the ancient origins of extradition practices:

  As a concept, it originated with the Ancient Egyptian and Chinese civilisations. Following an unsuccessful Hittite  invasion of Egypt, an extradition agreement formed part of a peace treaty signed between Ramses II and the Hittite King, Hattusili II. Amazingly, this text still exists. [emphasis mine]

The ancient Egyptian example is clearly cited by both sources, but I have not yet been able find a specific reference to an example of ancient Chinese extradition / rendition practices or treaties.  Thus I don't know if the ancient Chinese example(s) are from the same, or an earlier, or a later time frame.  The History Vault article says no more about it than the highlighted portion cited above.

Do the ancient Chinese origins pre-date the documented example from ancient Egypt?


texts: How many slaves did the British Empire free between 1700 and 1900?

texts:
Parliament's 1833 Slavery Abolition Act bought, over a six-year time period, the freedom of all slaves in the British Empire

  the Territories in the Possession of the East India Company, or to the Island of Ceylon, or to the Island of Saint Helena." The exceptions were eliminated in 1843.

After an escalation of peaceful protests against the "apprenticeships" mandated in the Act, "Full emancipation for all was legally granted ahead of schedule on 1 August 1838."

Additionally, Parliament through the Indian Slavery Act of 1843, the Upper Canada Act Against Slavery 1793, Slave Trade Felony Act 1811, and a succession of Slave Trade Acts of 1807, 1824, 1843, and 1873 also largely abolished the maritime slave trade across much of the world.

Over the time period from 1700 to 1899, what is the estimated number of slaves freed by action of the British Empire and its subordinate institutions (dominions, possessions, colonies, chartered corporations, military, etc.)?


texts: How does a heraldic eagle become a nazi symbol?

texts:
The Heraldic Eagle, or Reichsadler is still to this day used as the coat of arms of the German empire. Its use in the coat of arms, and on German symbolism generally picture an eagle with curved wings and a red open beak.

Nazis used a heraldic eagle with wider and straighter wings, and no apparent colors.

In October 2018, a Philly cop was noticed wearing the said eagle on his forearm, and was frowned upon by the national press. However, no apparent sign appeared to me to link this type of symbolism directly to nazism (especially since it wasn't known if the eagle was carrying any swastika).

Is there any way to dissociate the Reichsadler from nazism?

How does an heraldic eagle become a nazi symbol?


texts: What was the economic basis for West Berlin?

texts:
From the 1950s to 1989, West Berlin was physically and economically cut off from the surrounding countryside. Since WWII it had lost the government service functions that help drive a capital's economy. And it didn't exactly sit on a trade crossroads, since transportation through the surrounding east bloc country was cumbersome and subject to unpredictable interference from the GDR/Soviet authorities.

Yet the city didn't become depopulated, even though its inhabitants were free to move to the West in search of jobs in the Wirtschaftswunder.

What did all those people live from? (Many of them were of course providing services to each other, but somewhere there must have been an inflow of money into the economy). For example, did they have a manufacturing industry, importing raw materials from the West and shipping finished goods back? If so, how did it stay competitive with West Germany, which would be free of West Berlin's particular logistical challenges? Or were they being directly subsidized by the Federal Republic and/or the western allies, for political reasons?

Most of what I can find on the web seems to be focused on chronicling travel restrictions for individual citizens, the shifting arrangements of utilities and communications across the sector boundaries, and the logistics of importing food and consumables. They don't really discuss where the money to pay for said imports ultimately came from.


texts: When was the concept of "art criticism" first seen?

texts:
Today being an art critic is a full time occupation for some individuals. When/where does the concept of "art criticism" first come into being?

Clarify

I am NOT looking for a random person sharing a personal opinion. I am looking for a professional person or skill set, recognized by the public in general or an employer (such as the government) for their skill in rating/criticizing/censoring art.  They raised payment in financial support or public recognition. We recognize Socrates as a philosopher because he was recognized by his peers (though I don't believe he was paid for the act).


texts:
Heracleum or cow parsnips are high-latitude plants that can produce severe inflammation in humans. They seem like the last thing someone would want to ingest. However:

Flora on Kamchatka: flowers and grasses:

  Puchka (Heracleum dulce) is an insidious plant. Its juice has a sweet taste, but leaves blisters and sores on the skin that ache for months! ... Cossacks distilled wine that produced a strange effect: after two or three glasses a person saw wonderful dreams, but in the morning felt so miserable as if he had committed a crime.

Mansfeld's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops:

  A psychoactive drink is made from the plant in Kamchatka.

While the first quote is about something like an accident, the second one seems to describe an ongoing practice. Which culture(s) used this hogweed preparation, and to what ends? Does it still exist today?


texts: When was the Ottoman mosque within the Parthenon demolished?

texts:
After the Great Turkish War of 1683 - 1699, the Ottomans built a small mosque in the ruined Parthenon using salvaged materials from Parthenon itself. This was after it was catastrophically damaged by a gunpowder explosion in 1687.

Here are two depictions of the mosque inside the Parthenon and then one without it:

Early 1830's

Peytier - Mosque in the Parthenon

1839:

Engraving of the first photograph of the Parthenon. Daguerreotype photograph taken by Pierre-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière in October, 1839. Engraved by Frédéric Martens. Published in Excursions daguerriennes by Noël Paymal Lerebours in 1841.

1848 -  the Mosque now does not appear:

photo taken from this forum

So my question is, when was the Mosque inside the parthenon actually demolished? Do we have a date for it?

Also a bonus question, do we know if the original photo taken by Pierre-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière in October, 1839 still exists? or has that since been lost?


texts: Are there documented shifts in how history, time, and accuracy were regarded in society?

texts:
I recall an interview where Reza Aslan described that History, in its present form, didn't always exist that way.  That is the rigor, validation, and peer review wasn't present.  Instead, it was a tool to convey an intuitive understanding, to "get the gist of" past events, cultures or conflicts.

Since people once thought the Earth was flat, I would assume humans linear  understanding of time also went through an evolution of sorts.

Question

How has the cultural concept and treatment of history (and time) evolved to its presently understood form?

...or, how did History become History?


texts: Did Napoleon III reserve a special set of aluminum cutlery for special guests?

texts:
Slate (2010):

  the minor emperor Napoleon III reserved a prized set of aluminum cutlery for special guests at banquets. (Less favored guests used gold knives and forks.)

I see the above claim (or some version thereof) repeated often (usually to illustrate that aluminum was once very rare). I am trying to find an original source for it.


texts: Historical African Demographic and Agriculture Data

texts:
I'm looking for resources that give the the demographic breakdown of African nations for the time period 1880-1960 (so colonization), such as from censuses. Primarily, I need the european share of the population. Is anyone aware of various sources that are available that include this information? I'm willing to spend the time to digitize, but am a little lost where to even begin.

I'm also interested in agriculture production or exports for the pre-colonial period, particularly pre-1866. Again, I'm unsure where to even begin with this research. Any ideas?


texts: What are these slots for in this stone slab?

texts:
Does anyone know the purpose of these slots in this stone slab?

If it helps, the stone slab may have been taken from a nearby castle.

Also, there's another stone slab (also embedded in the wall) that is a mirror image.


texts: Why and how did Macedon support Carthage in the Punic wars?

texts:
I understand that Rome accused the Kingdom of Macedon to have supported Carthage in the first and/or second Punic war, and that was the reason of the Macedonian wars. Is this true, or was it just a pretext?

If the accusation was true, what were the motivations behind such a support (by Macedon to Carthage) — was it the case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend? Also, what was the nature of the support?


texts: When did hanging emerge as a form of capital punishment?

texts:
As the title has it: when did hanging emerge as a form of legal execution? The Wikipedia article (linked) has nothing to say about this. I've done the best I can with a search in Google Scholar, but failed to spot treatments of this particular issue.

It's entirely possible it arose spontaneously in different cultures at different times. I'm interested in primary source documentary evidence for its earliest use, wherever that might be.

This question arises from a discussion of the book of Esther on Hermeneutics.SE.


texts: Contemporary objections to the Bill of Rights's 1st Amendment / Declaration of the Rights of Man, art. 10?

texts:
What were the objections to the Bill of Rights's 1st Amendment when it was first published?

  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
  prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
  speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to
  assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

(ratified: 15 Dec. 1791)

and/or France's Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen, article 10:

  Nul ne doit être inquiété pour ses opinions, même religieuses, pourvu que leur manifestation ne trouble pas l'ordre public établi par
  la Loi. [No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions,
  including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not
  disturb the public order established by law.]

(26 Aug. 1789)

?


texts: Did Roman Empire elite believe in their gods?

texts:
For example, did Julius Cesar or Augustus believe in the existence of Jupiter? Is there some consistent evidence in writings that they truly believed in the Roman gods? Or maybe they thought that the mythology they promoted through temples, worship and so on was helpful for stability, perhaps part of the "panem et circenses" logic?

Although I gave particular examples of Roman rulers, I am not interested in what this or that particular emperor or caesar believed per se, but rather in whether something systematic can be said about this issue.

My question is motivated by reading about the persecution of Christians in the Roman empire. Christians were asked to adore the Roman gods in public, or else face death. If the Roman elite did not truly believe in their gods, it could be argued that they were using this public confession purely as a mean of keeping the stability of the empire, rather than also defending their own faith.


texts: How is it possible to be a baronet and not a peer?

texts:
I probably still haven't grasped what peerage really entails. Wikipedia says:

  The Baronetage of Nova Scotia (a British hereditary title, but not a peerage) had been devised by King James VI of Scotland in 1624 as a means of settling Nova Scotia. Except for Sir Thomas Temple, almost none of them came to Nova Scotia, therefore they are counted as British, not Canadian.


texts:
Heat baths or sweat lodges such as the Russian banya and the temescal of the Mesoamericans are common around the world, especially where it gets cold. These insulated, purpose-built structures are built around a specific heat source to reach a high interior temperature. Some have water features and others are dry. Plenty of reasons explain why people like to use heat baths. The necessary technology is ancient.

While space and fuel are at a premium on almost any boat, a cold ocean voyage seems to call for trips to the sauna. They are now easy to find on large yachts and cruise ships. What was the first heat bath on a seagoing vessel?


texts: Why did Loyalists go to Canada during the American Revolution

texts:
I am currently learning about the American Revolution and I have some questions about the loyalists.

I know that they were supportive of the British Empire, but why did they leave the U.S. and, when they got to Canada, what were they promised for their loyalty? All I know is that they were promised land because of their loyalty to go to Canada. And one reason why they went to Canada was to settle there. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


texts: Why would graphite have been confused with lead?

texts:
I was reading the wikipedia page for pencil, and came across an interesting fact:

  Prior to 1565 (some sources say as early as 1500), a large deposit of graphite was discovered on the approach to Grey Knotts from the hamlet of Seathwaite in Borrowdale parish, Cumbria, England. This particular deposit of graphite was extremely pure and solid, and it could easily be sawn into sticks. It remains the only large-scale deposit of graphite ever found in this solid form. Chemistry was in its infancy and the substance was thought to be a form of lead.

My question is, why was graphite thought to be a form of lead? The density of graphite is ~2.2g/cm^3, while lead is 11.34g/cm^3. They're both gray--but I have a hard time believing that color was the only reason people thought at the time that it was a form of lead. I'm sure I'm missing some context here that someone could elucidate.


texts: What was the area of Nazi Germany at its height?

texts: The only number I’ve been able to find is the area of it in 1939, but it obviously got a lot bigger after that.


texts: When have salaries been paid in kind, not cash?

texts:
Formal jobs of the present day pay primarily cash wages, but a great number of historical employees earned primarily food, housing, goods from a company store, scrip, or debt repayment.

These non-cash payments could occur in the context of coercion; consider the many slaves and indentured servants who were and are obligated to pay for an inferior room and board. They also appear among volunteer employees in frontier economies, which are often somewhat closed.

In what circumstances have noncash wages appeared? How have employers justified the practice? Have they been a source of labor unrest?


texts: During World War 1, were any policies in place to handle large scale troop mutiny?

texts:
From what I understand, the rank and file didn't really want to be there after the fighting got started (this could be incorrect).  During the Christmas Truce, both sides stopped fighting and interacted.

Were there any policies in place to handle the case where a majority of the non-officer soldiers mutually decided to stop fighting each other?


texts: How did life for commoners in Okinawa change with the Satsuma invasion?

texts:
In 1609, the kingdom of Ryukyu which covers what is today known as Okinawa, was invaded by the Japanese Satsuma clan.

How did this affect the everyday life of commoners (Everybody not noble or a priest, for the purpose of this question)?

From the Wikipedia article about the invasion cited above, we learn:

  14 samurai officials from Satsuma, along with 163 of their staff, examined the kingdom's political structures and economic productivity, and conducted land surveys of all the islands. [...]
  Though the king [of Ryukyu] retained considerable powers, he was only permitted to operate within a framework of strict guidelines set down by Satsuma, and was required to pay considerable amounts in tribute to Satsuma on a regular basis.

Together with the fact that lack of tributes to the shogunate was at least a pretext for the invasion, this would indicate that the tax burden would be higher under the Satsuma. Was this so? What other major changes for everyday life came with the invasion?


texts: Was the Bosnian Crisis the trigger to WWI and not the assassination?

texts:
I've read that Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908, much to the dismay of the Serbs. Russia backed this action and was promised to have access to the Straits but were later denied. The Serbs were pressured by their Russian ally to give up their claims of Bosnia-Herzegovina (but why?). Before then, Austria had repeatedly threatened to go to war against Serbia if Serbia continued to refuse recognizing Austria's claims.

The killer who murdered Archduke Ferdinand was a member of the Black Hand, the same group that is connected with the post-revolutionary government in Serbia, so the Serbian government was complicit. From a historical point of view, it seems that Serb nationalism was the trigger to WWI.


texts: Who said "one can be a powerful king with a very small sceptre"?

texts:
Anne McElvoy, senior editor at the Economist, wrote the following in a recent column:

  As a mistress of Louis XIV waspishly remarked, one can be a powerful king with a very small sceptre.

The quote appears exactly once in Google's index -- in the above-mentioned column. I presume she meant Louis XIV of France, so I searched a few possible translations and wasn't able to locate the quote in French either.

Assuming the quote is correct, or that there's a similar quote that I missed, what is the actual quote, which of Louis XIV's mistresses said it (assuming it was indeed one of his mistresses), and in what context?


texts: Are there historical instances of settlers who were largely uncontacted and undisturbed after settling?

texts:
I am looking for historical instances of a rather specific and strange scenario:

Settlers who settled a wild/unclaimed territory (ideally 100-300 in number) who after settling in the new place, were largely uncontacted and undisturbed for at least 300 years. No additional arrivals of settlers to inflate population, or supplies to augment them. No interaction or interbreeding with a native population.

Why? I am trying to model the population growth of a hypothetical poorly-equipped but hardy band of 200 settlers, in basic family units, in an area without a native population, moderate predators, moderate climate, and basic knowledge of 1730s-era tech. This research is for the purposes of a novel.

My research so far:  My research initially led me to the viking expansion - particularly the family group settling of Shetland, near Faroe. However, historical census data is not available. I also have been reading about remote communities, the genetic "founder effect", etc. All very interesting and relevant, but I haven't yet found any population data that fits this inquiry.

Edit: In terms of how severe a "break in contact" I'm looking for, it doesn't have to be immediate and absolute. It is not the 'contact' that I'm trying to model, but rather the population growth. So, the settlers may have correspondence or visitations by other groups, as long as there are not large influxes of new settlers or mate potentials. I'm trying to understand A) how high population can grow in ~300 years from the initial settlers, and B) how robust the settlers might build their village.
After 300 years, would the initial 200 people marooned in the strange land be reduced to just 50 descendants, in a hunter/gatherer tribe? Or would the 200 people balloon to 10,000 and have developed their own infrastructure and technology?


texts: Were schools for disabled tolerated by Nazi Germany?

texts: I am trying to find out if schools for disabled children were permitted to exist in Nazi Germany. In particular I am  looking for a source of anecdotal testimony by survivors of the t4 programme of euthanasia.


texts: What could explain the myth (or truth) of drunken defenders during the battle of the plains of Abraham?

texts:
I have come across popular references towards the sodden or sozzled state of the French and Canadien defenders of Quebec City during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Mostly, these references are made by the loosing side or their descendants. It would seem, according to them, that the loss of the battle is to be attributed to the intoxicated state of either the soldiers themselves or their commander; Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. Examples of this provided below:
From "Mon Pays" by "Les Cowboys Fringants"

[...]
Sur les plaines d'Abraham, l'armée trinquait à l'eau d'vie /
On the plains of Abraham, the army was a toasting with spirits
Tout en bas de la falaise, les Anglais prenaient fusils /
Down below the cliff, the English readied their guns
[...]
Si Montcalm avait pas été saoûl /
Had Montcalm not been drunk
Si l'armée avait pas pris un coup /
Had the army not been four sheets to the wind
Les Anglais feraient à peine le Waterloo! /
The English would have barely made it to Waterloo

Translations in italics by me, emphasis mine.
From "La Cohorte Fantôme" by Frédérique Champagne

Cadavres fleurdelisés sur les plaines d’Abraham / Bodies bearing the fleur de lys on the Plains of Abraham
Montcalm tiré dans le dos / Montcalm shot in the back
Vergor saoul mort capturé blessé à mort à l’Anse-au-Foulon / Vergor blind drunk captured mortally wounded at Anse-au-Foulon

Translations in italics by me, emphasis mine. To wit, Vergor was the French officer in charge of the defense of Anse-au-Foulon.
Other examples crop up every now and again in public discourse, articles or other media.
So what is the source of this myth that the defenders at Quebec in 1759 were drunk on duty while a known enemy force was nearby? Or is there any truth to these claims? Scholarly work on the subject of the battle seems to suggest that Montcalm blundered when he did not wait for reinforcements before attacking.
I am aware that during this period people would consume what was referred to as small beer (less than 2.8 % ABV) as a means of hydration which was free from pathogens, soldiers were even allotted a ration of this, could it be that the such historical practices are being conflated with more modern perceptions of beer consumption?
Or is it that such claims as to the intoxication of the loosing side are simply a modern interpretation of the events which shifts the blame for the loss onto other factors than martial prowess, strategy, tactics, logistics and luck that make up the sum of war?


texts: Is the Bible considered a reliable historical resource?

texts: I realize there is probably a large spectrum of opinions on this matter. Nevertheless, what is the general consensus among academics on the historical reliability of the Bible? Is it a sound historical document or is it simply a book of legends? Considering the number of books that comprise the Bible, are some considered more historically accurate than others?


texts: What is the historical evidence behind the claim that the Soviet armies perpetrated mass rapes during their stay in Germany?

texts:
Besides accounts from Anthony Beevor's book and research done by Sander & Johr, which some members of the amateur historian community dismiss as biased and revisionist, are there any other source material which provide evidence to Beevor's claim? This can be in the form of first hand accounts, statistics from health centers or any other suitable evidence.

Note that I am not asking for justification of such acts; such is subjective. I am merely asking for evidence.

EDIT: Some of Anthony Beevor's claims are discussed in this Guardian article he wrote: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/may/01/news.features11


texts: What did this WWII combat medic insignia represent?

texts:
Regarding the arm patch on the combat medic, I've been unable to find its meaning online. Could someone help me identify this?

I'm 99% sure the person (who is actually in the Air Force) is dressed as a WWII medic, though she happens to be in a vehicle from Vietnam; but tell me if I'm wrong.


texts: What cultures did, or do, perform human sacrifice on a regular basis?

texts: Looking at the Area 51 commitment page, I realized that some of the questions that were originally suggested there never got asked here, so I thought I'd add some of them. Something else I would like to see addressed as part of this question would be the reasons behind the sacrifices. Were they tied to religious or superstitious beliefs, such as appeasing gods, or were they done as a form of punishment or revenge?


texts:
I know this question is too broad and I expect it to be closed: that's fine. But I lack the specific History background to be able to ask a better question at the moment (too many other pots in the fire, so to speak).

So I'm wondering: did people perhaps believe in the divine right of kings partly because anyone who wasn't particularly adept at managing the different wants and desires of his subjects tended to get killed a lot. So the lineage of kings that survived would likely have something in the genes and/or upbringing allowing them to continue on and procreate before someone knifed them in the back.

Is this supported historically, in the middle-ages? In order to make this about as specific as it should be: maybe thinking about just in Europe around... um... I don't know, whatever time it seems applicable I guess? Is that ok to say?


texts: What did medieval European knights do if they were defeated in battle?

texts: I know that in medieval Japan, if samurai were defeated in battle or dishonored in any way they had to commit seppuku (killed themselves). I just wanted to know if medieval Europe had a similar rule.


texts: In segregated South, would Asian-Americans be treated as "colored" or as whites?

texts:
During racial segregation in USA many businesses had signs that either restricted service to a particular race or that directed different races through different entrances.

Some examples of this include this photo (displaying a "We Cater to White Trade Only" sign on a restaurant window in Lancaster, Ohio in 1938) and this photo (showing a black man walking up to a "colored" entrance of a movie theater in Belzoni, Mississippi, 1939).

In this kind of environment, were Asian-Americans considered white or "colored" when traveling on a bus, visiting a movie theater, or applying for a job?


texts: What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?

texts:
For all these countries that the Red Army entered (Poland, Romania, part of Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary), the procedure was straightforward. Once the Soviets beat the Germans they become de facto occupants and could establish a government of their choice.

With Bulgaria it was a little bit different. Once it became clear that the Red Army offensive would enter their country, local communists swiftly executed a coup d'etat, which was obviously not opposed by either the Bulgarian public or the USSR. Even so, they still went under Soviet control.

In Yugoslavia, they had their own socialist government. However, since 1948 Yugoslavia was independent from USSR. As much as it is questionable if they were a part of the Eastern Bloc, they surely weren't under USSR power like the rest. (Albania had some similarities, also being independent since 1961. Albania was geographically separated from the Eastern Bloc in that it only bordered Yugoslavia.)

Somehow, it never occurred to me that the Red Army did enter Yugoslavia, and did take a major part in liberating the capital in 1944. What were the reasons for completely withdrawing their troops, and when did it happen? It is so unlike Stalin to do something like this. He could leave at least a few rear units and try to influence, if not control, the situation later. This would repeat the usual scenario that had played out previously. The West could object, but surely they wouldn't bring their own troops to Yugoslavia to escalate conflict, especially since everyone was still facing the Germans. It seems that it is somewhat exceptional that Yugoslavia was handled this way with respect to all the other countries where the Red Army "dropped by".


texts: Where to find reliable source about Palestinians leaving in 1948 (Nakba)?

texts:
I am pretty new to the topic and just finished A. Razak Abdel-Kader's Conflicts between Jews and Arabs, as one of my first books on the topic. He mentions more than 3/4 of Arabs left in 1948, who became afraid following fake news of threats from Jews at this moment. He mentions Jews asked them to stay despite those news, that this state would not be able to survive without them.

By trying to learn more about it, I came across the historian Ilan Pappé wiki, mentioning Arabs were mainly fleeing fights. An other historian, Benny Morris explains it was deliberate from the Jews.

The two wikis mention sources from Israeli archives and Ben Gurion's letter. So where can I find sources going deeper than this and why is it so hard to find the truth?


texts: What were the components of a good classical education in 18th Century British Empire?

texts:
Reading the Federalist Papers, I’m really impressed by the command that the American Founders had not only of the language but also models of philosophy, history, and politics.
What would a good classical education have looked like at this time? What classic nonfiction books would they have read as they grew up? What literature?
Edit: I’m supposed to provide evidence of prior research, but I’m not a historian and I have no idea where to start. I’m currently reading through accounts of CS Lewis’s education (150 years later, I know) since I seem to recall him talking about what a classical education was or should be.


texts: What caused the decline in support for the Protectionist Party of Australia?

texts:
The Protectionist Party of Australia was one of the three main federal parties at the time of federation and produced the country's first two Prime Ministers, but it was not long before their share of the vote was in decline. In the elections in 1901, 1903 and 1906, the party won 31, 26 and 16 seats respectively (another 4 seats in 1906 were won by the Independent Protectionist Party). While their total number of votes received in 1903 was actually higher than in 1901, the rate of increase was substantially lower than the growth in number of eligible voters. From having 36.75% of the primary vote in 1901, they fell to just 16.44% in 1906 (combined total of 21.28% for protectionist parties).

What were the circumstances that led to such a rapid decline in the share of the vote for the Protectionist Party and protectionist parties in general in Australia? To what extent did the actions of the Protectionist Party while in government contribute to its loss of support?


texts: Who first in human history has promoted equality rights of all people?

texts:
I have found this wiki page about Twelve Articles but as it says in this article:

  The Twelve Articles (1525) are considered to be the first record of human rights in Europe

it considers only Europe. Is there any other earlier known document or event which says about equal human rights in the history of humanity?


texts:
Most refugee crises I am aware of happened since the turn of the 20th century. Is there any documented history of refugee crises before? Do we know if wars comparable in intensity and casualties before the 20th century caused similar magnitudes of refugees? If not, what were some of the reasons?

Here is an interesting visual but it only covers since WW2.


texts: Did the Sturmabteilung uniform look ridiculous in terms of German fashion in the 1920s?

texts:
Ridicule is a common method of social dismissal. The Sturmabteilung (SA) were a German fascist militia in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Their most basic uniform was described as a yellow brown Kaiserreich desert uniform. Unlike the Schutzstaffel the SA did not benefit from a fashion designed uniform.

Were the SA subject to ridicule in Germany?
In terms of the relevant fashion cultures of Germany, did they look ridiculous?


texts:
Who was the French king during Pope Alexander VI (Borgia)

(watching Borgias TV Show) and interested.

The one who started Italian wars.


texts: Does anyone recognize this signature from Lord Rayleigh's "The Theory of Sound"?

texts: I was reading from Rayleigh's "The Theory of Sound" from 1877, and one of the first pages is dedicated to this signature which is given a proud position in the center of the page.


texts: A Roman Admiral, a Tribune, a Legatus and a Promagistrate all walk into an arena

texts:
If these meet up, who is more senior than who, socially, politically and militarily?

The Legatus, Admiral, and Tribune are from legions and fleets in different provinces to the Promagistrate. They meet in the Promagistrates province

Tribune is an Tribuni angusticlavii.
Admiral is whatever the Roman equivalent was, some places I have looked says that they were also promagistrates/magistates, others say they were a separate rank altogether.

For year: about AD 200

If all 3 makes it too broad, who ranks higher militarily? Although they are basically meeting at a fancy dinner, militarily is more important.


texts: Where can I find the text of "Ecerinis"?

texts: This is a play from the 14th century (reportedly "the first secular tragedy written since Roman times") relating the tale of Ezzelino da Romano and written by one Albertino Mussato. Is there an online English text? Or at least a published book where it appears in translation?


texts: How and when did the Tarim River / Basin get its name?

texts:
I recently posted a question on Linguistics:SE asking for a proper etymology of the name "Tarim" as in "Tarim Basin", as well as the name's possible connection with Tocharian (Please see the description of that question).

I originally expected these information to be readily available from etymological database like StarLing, and I was surprised to find it extremely difficult to place a single, proper etymology of the word. After a few days of search and inquiry, I am still unable to trace the name back to a definitive origin, and the question remains unanswered. I realize that this could be in part due to the limitation of consulting with only English sources.

As a result, I decided to repost the question here on History:SE, and instead of focusing exclusively on the etymological aspects of the name, I would also like to ask for a historical overview -- when did this word begin to be associated with the river / basin, and from which language did the name originate? Additionally, I would highly appreciate if someone could provide me with relevant information concerning the word's origin and historical development from non-English sources.

Thank you.


texts: What tanks/armored vehicles are in these pictures?

texts:
Need help in identifying the tanks/armored vehicles in the picture.
Date - 11 Aug 2019
Location - Birmenstorf, Switzerland
Event  - “A Convoy to remember” commemorating 75 Anniversary of WW2 Normandy DDay landing.


texts: In medieval times, were captured nobles always ransomed?

texts:
Was watching the directors cut of Kingdom of Heaven, and one of the scenes had an actor playing what seemed to be a nobelman stating that he is according the privilege of ransom. While I remember that being so in my readings, in this scene, he was killed instead.

What my question is were nobles more likely to be ransomed when captured in battle (such as Richard the Lionheart to use a famous example), offed unless they were extremely high ranking such as a King or Duke, or a halfway point between the two?


texts: Did the Kriegsmarine allow crewmen and sailors to own and bring aboard pets on their ships?

texts:
My question is inspired by reading about the Unsinkable Sam story, where according to Wikipedia the Unsinkable Sam was initially living aboard the German battleship Bismarck.
Now my question isn't whether or not the story of Unsinkable Sam is real or not, or whether there really was a cat aboard Bismark, but rather that I am simply wondering: Did the Kriegsmarine really allow crew to have pets on ships?
To summarize my question:

Did the Kriegsmarine officially allow crew to have pets on board warships?
If not, did crewmen still bring pets aboard ships as far historical evidence suggest and was it common?


texts: Which was the last pitched battle fought by Western powers?

texts:
If we define a pitched battle as

  a fierce military engagement on close combat on the ground between two armies at war. Both intending on fighting the other and not retreating or escaping before the main engagement that constitutes the battle.

To avoid discussions on too small battles, let us consider only those involving at least 500-people a side.

Images of wars prior to WWII seems to indicate the large importance of pitched battles in strategies of war. For example in Napoleonic Wars, up until Waterloo, the battles were the main determinant.

However, most recently, post WW-II, major conflicts between most developed countries have reduced considerably, and the advent of weapons made that such battles would turn to be essentially a waste a human life (most like no large scale naval battle was fought after the Juntland.

I was thus wondering when was the last pitched battle that took place, involving a sizeable army from a Western nation (We could narrow it down to the USA, the UK, Germany, France or Italy)?

I am curious about the others too, but I'd rather have only limited to those countries

The last ones that I can figure out are during the WW-II, like El-Alamein in North Africa, the Siege of Bastogne, etc.

Dien Bien Phu during the Indochine war.

And even those might not be accepted as pitched battles really.

But then I am not really sure. I couldn't figure out whether there were any in the Gulf War (90-91)..

Looking around, I found that Culloden is supposedly the last one on Brittish soil.


texts: What are major differences between a Caliphate and a modern Republic?

texts:
As far as I know, a Caliphate elects a leader for a lifetime term, rather than having regular elections.

Some caliphates choose their leader by a small group rather than have the masses choose, but some argue that it is a matter of logistics (not being able to quickly get everyone's votes) rather than by design. [1]

Can a Caliphate, in theory, be secular?

I know that there are many Caliphates in the past, but I'm more interested in the design of the original Rashidun Caliphate, though an explanation of how the system evolved throughout history helps.

And by Republic, I mean the more modern ones, commonly referred to as Democracy, as in many parts of Europe and the United States.

[1] Dr. Ali Muhammad as-Sallabi and Faisal Shafeeq (2007) The Biography of Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, Darussalam.


texts: How are Julian and Gregorian dates usually represented in historical works?

texts:
I'm working on a biography (based in England) with many transcribed letters and diary entries. The author has put the dates as follows, for example, 28 January 1639-40. Meaning that the entry/letter was written in 1639 in the Julian calendar and 1640 in the Gregorian. This seems to be wrong on a number of levels.
Firstly, from what I can gather the difference between the two dates is more than just the difference in year (due to the differing year start dates, in England the year changed on 25 March) resulting in a date of 7 February 1640 in the Gregorian calendar for the date 28 January 1639 in the Julian. I got this from Stevemorse.org
Secondly, using a dash to indicate the difference between the two calendar dates makes it look like the letter was written between January 1639 and January 1640. I don't know what the convention is to indicate this double dating but I would have thought parentheses or a slash would be more appropriate?
Edit: Having done some more research I've found some indication that the people of the day sometimes wrote both years to signify the differing year beginnings in different parts of the world. But why two people writing to each other in England would do this is beyond me.
To clarify my question:
How are these double dates usually presented in historical works? By dash, slash or parentheses? I don't want to just blindly transcribe the letter if it adds confusion. What is our modern stylistic convention for representing these double dates?
Was it normal practice to present both years at that time?
If the double year is likely to be an introduction of the author of the book (not the letter) is it normal to use both years and why is just the year difference noted and not also the day and month difference recognized?


texts: Help identify ship, possibly from New York area

texts: I got this picture in the same auction I got the Clermont Replica Steamship, so it may be from North River area. Stern flag has letters AVOC?


texts: Were the Hashemite kings of Iraq and Transjordan considered foreign?

texts:
The British made two sons of Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, rulers of the new political entities of Transjordan and Iraq after WWI. They were both born in the Hijaz (now in West Saudi Arabia), not the area they ruled. On the other hand, the political distinctions between these areas today did not exist in the early 20th century.

The question:
To what extent were Hussein bin Ali's sons seen as foreigners by the people they ruled over, and, did that sentiment ever express itself in local politics?


texts: How many barons did Magna Carta apply to?

texts:
How many barons had their rights improved by Magna Carta when it was signed in 1215?
And how did this number evolve later?
The supervising council consisted of 25 barons, but I presume more barons could have been affected.


texts: Wasn't it a tactical mistake for Saladin to send fruits and water to Richard I when ill?

texts:
Possible Duplicate: Why did Saladin show kindness to Richard I?

"When Richard falls sick at the siege of Acre in 1192, Saladin not only sends his personal physician Maimonides over to treat him, he sends ice to help him fight the fevers and certain healing fruits. When Richard’s horse is killed during battle, and the English king finds himself on foot facing the entire Muslim army, the Muslims let him walk by their entire phalanx without attacking. Later, Saladin sends him two fresh mounts so he will not be at a disadvantage,” wrote Michael Hamilton Morgan in Lost History.

My question is, why was it so important for Saladin to treat Richard so generously?

What was the end-benefit of his generousness?

Wasn't it a tactical mistake?


texts: Why is the flag of Prague yellow and red?

texts: Wikipedia's flag for Prague shows red and yellow. I think that the red comes from flag of Bohemia and yellow from flag of Habsburgs, but that is just a hypothesis.


texts: Operation Biting — composition of the German naval patrol

texts:
Before the British paratroopers were rescued during Operation Biting in 1942, it was reported that a German naval patrol was operating nearby, which delayed the rescue of the paratroopers by the Royal Navy in the early morning hours of February 28.

What were the names of the ships that comprised the German naval unit? At 1:04:45 in TIK's video on Operation Biting, he mentioned two German destroyers and two German E-boats but did not give the name of each ship.


texts: Why did Robert E. Lee stop offensive maneuvers?

texts: According to the Wikipedia article on the Battle of Gettysburg, after that battle Robert E. Lee stopped making offensive maneuvers and rather started reacting to Union offensives.  Is this 100% true, or were there other maneuvers?  Also, why did he stop making any offensive maneuvers after the battle?


texts:
Could Great Britain have built the British Empire if it was not the pioneer of the Industrial Revolution?

Put another way: Was the Industrial Revolution the single key over-riding factor to  its superpower status in the 19th century? If so, who should get more credit - engineers or soldiers or businessmen or politicians or even bankers?


texts: What was the first printed material owned and kept in Kamchatka?

texts: Kamchatka today has cultural projects like universities and museums, but in the early Russian period it was considered a pretty desolate place. Among other deficiencies, there was very little for the few literate residents to read. They could acquire manuscripts, and priests or monks could have had printed Bibles, but early on, getting a book would have been tough. Wintering ships with their own libraries most likely sailed away with them. Excluding Bibles, what was the first printed material owned and kept in Kamchatka?


texts: Was Ireland really England's first colony?

texts:
I have a vaguely decent knowledge of Irish history, but I know relatively little of the history of England.
I've often heard Ireland spoken of as England's first colony, but surely that 'title' would have gone to Scotland and/or Wales?


texts:
So I am watching Mankind the Story of All of Us, and in the 3rd episode it describes Roman gladiatorial games.

The documentary claims that the Gladiatorial games were free for everyone to watch. It also depicts women in the spectators. How historically accurate are these two things?


texts: Why was record keeping forbidden in Ancient Sparta?

texts:
in Ancient Sparta, record keeping and any kind of written history was forbidden by law. (src: https://history.stackexchange.com/a/5966/332 )

What was the rationale for such a law?


texts: Did Pythagoras visit Judaea, Arabia, and/or India?

texts:
From Wikipedia's page on Pythagoras:

  Diogenes Laertius reported that Pythagoras had undertaken extensive travels, and had visited not only Egypt, but Arabia, Phoenicia, Judaea, Babylon, and even India, for the purpose of collecting all available knowledge, and especially to learn information concerning the secret or mystic cults of the gods.

An earlier revision of the article reads:

  It was the standard belief in antiquity that Pythagoras had undertaken extensive travels, and had visited not only Egypt, but Arabia, Phoenicia, Judaea, Babylon, and even India, for the purpose of collecting all available knowledge, and especially to learn information concerning the secret or mystic cults of the gods.

As we are told repeatedly when trying to find out about Pythagoras' life, very little is reliably known about it. A lot of later sources use his travels to explain his various influences and tend to crowbar countries into his itinerary for this reason. For example, Egypt and Babylon are often stated to have influenced his geometry, mysticism and secrecy, while Babylon and India opened his eyes to vegetarianism, and India, some say, introduced him to vedic mathematics and Buddhism. One can't help but be sceptical of such explanations.

That said, my question is simple: does Laertius' Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers actually mention Arabia, Judaea, and/or "even India"?


texts: How common was poisoning as tool of murder among common people in 19th and early 20th century Europe?

texts:
We all know famous people who were murdered by poisoning from ancient times till today. I am not interested in this, I am more interested in average people killing their spouses, relative (maybe friends, enemies) with poison.
Up till early-mid 20th century poisoning was the perfect murder:

no obvious sign;
many poisons were very hard to detect even when suspected;
easy access even for the common people as many household chemicals contained them.

Unfortunately, I have found very few documented cases (most probably because of the difficulty of study it retrospectively). The most famous one is maybe the AngelMakers of Tiszazug after WWI, where wives murdered their husbands and other relatives in large number. There are some interesting differences between the English and Hungarian version of the wiki, including the estimated number of victims (50ish vs 300ish), and Hungarian wiki clearly mentions that similar (less famous) cases happened in the neighborhood and other part of the country, too. Authorities generally tried to hide these cases, to avoid scandal, which I guess makes their research even more difficult.
So the question: do we have any estimation, how common form of domestic murder poisoning was?


texts: Why did really old paintings use such bizarre, unnatural perspective/proportions?

texts:
I say "really old" because at least in the 17th century, they are all photo-realistic. (I still don't understand how anyone can paint that beautifully and realistically.)
However, let's say the 15h century or earlier, all the paintings seem to use a completely warped perspective. Nothing seems to "make sense" proportionally; people and objects seem to be able to have any size and proportions that the artist feels like using at the moment, or found convenient, or whatever the reason may be. A large ship can be represented by a contraption that barely fits a couple of people side by side, with humans of the same size next to it. It looks very strange to me, every time.
It's almost as if the entire concept of "perspective" was invented just a few hundred years ago, but that sounds bizarre. Us humans have had eyes for an extremely long time, and our brains surely haven't fundamentally changed in that short period of time, so we clearly knew that a large ship is... larger than people. It seems to make no sense to paint in such a manner. It couldn't be that they didn't "understand" this, or that their skilled fingers somehow couldn't paint it onto a canvas.
They must have had some reason. I once heard or read somewhere something about them considering the size of an object or person to equal their or its importance. While strange, it could somewhat explain this for me, but I still think it sounds very odd that they would not simply make the king or queen "glow" and have a central position in the painting, perhaps standing close to the "camera". The wildly varying proportions of everything makes it seem very abstract and surreal rather than "real".
Those beautiful, realistic paintings just a couple of hundred years later seem basically like (very well shot and lit) photographs, and I can stare at them forever in awe. The ones with "random proportions" make me angry and confused more than amazed most of the time... although the fact that they really did this is in itself fascinating to me. Which is why I ask.


texts: Where was Haile Selassie's palace in the Ogaden Desert?

texts:
According to Kapuściński's informant W.A.-N., in the former's book about Haile Selassie, The Emperor:

  It is true that some excesses were committed. For instance, a great Palace was constructed in the heart of the Ogaden Desert and maintained for years, fully staffed with servants and its pantry kept full, and His Indefatigable Majesty spent only one day there. But what if His Distinguished Majesty's itinerary were such that at some point he had to spend a night in the heart of the Desert? Wouldn't the Palace then prove itself indispensable? Unfortunately, our unenlightened people will never understand the Higher Reason that governs the actions of monarchs.

The Ogaden seems an unlikely spot for decadence. I did a little searching without finding another reference to this palace. Where and when was it built, and is any photograph available?


texts: Did Japan have secret films about going into the US in the 40s?

texts:
This film (narrated by Ronald Regan) was produced in the 40s. It discusses detailed planning for an air mission into an area in Japan.

Did Japan have similar fims in the time period to aid them in any missions to the US?


texts: Churchill's words about war escaping - any reference in his biography or memoir?

texts:
In Russia some citation of Churchill's words is mentioned, that I can roughly translate to English as:

  The most wars in history were escaped due to just putting them off.

Have you seen anything like this in his speeches, books or memoirs?

Original Russian variant is (also not 100 percent certain, but very near):

  Большинство войн в истории удалось избежать, просто их отложив.


texts: Who was the Holy Roman Emperor that was a travelling adventurer?

texts: I recall reading about a medieval Holy Roman Emperor, or heir apparent, that didn't get to rule over the kingdom. He was the last in line from a major dynasty, and held a high amount of prestige. He travelled around, undertaking various adventures and battles, especially in the east. He was a popular figure because of his exploits. Whatever the condition of Germany was at the time, he didn't get to have a typical rule. I think it was in the 15th century, possibly during the Hussite Crusades. It sounds obscure but he was actually the emperor, or was quite legendary.


texts: Did Nikita Krushchev's support of Stalin's purges play a part in his removal from office?

texts: As far as I can tell Krushchev was removed from office because of his erratic policies, and specifically their failures, but did his role in Stalin's purges also play a part in his removal?


texts: How does the amount of equipment carried by various historical infantries compare?

texts:
I've heard many statements amount the weight of supplies and munition carried by soldiers of various historical forces. In particular, I've heard many comments about the amount that the British redcoats had to carry and fight with in the early 18th century, and the amount of equipment the Roman legions carried to set up their fortresses each night.

How does the amount of equipment these soldiers had to carry and fight with compare to their contemporaries, and to a modern military force, say the Canadian Army, US Infantry, or Marines?


texts:
As per Wikipedia...

  The last Mughal emperor was deposed in 1858 by the British East India company and exiled to Burma following the War of 1857 after the fall of Delhi to the company troops. His death marks the end of the Mughal dynasty.

Where are the descendants of Mughals today?  Are they still as wealthy as they were once?


texts: How were blacks excluded from juries in the US southern states in the 1930s?

texts: As I am in the process of re-reading Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird, I did a bit of elementary research on the subject of jury selection in Alabama. I discovered that in the Scottsboro boys case (1932 to 1936) the Supreme Court eventually ruled that the absence of African Americans from the jury pool denied the defendants due process. What interests me is in what techniques were employed to exclude people of African descent.


texts: Life expectancy of monarchs and its relation to stability/peace

texts:
Has there been any studies on the average life expectancy of a monarch during different time periods? If there had been, can this be used as an indicator of relative peacefulness during the time?

Higher life expectancy => Less number of wars => Stability.


texts:
I always found WWII to be boring, so I never formed any strong opinions or historical knowledge about it.  After watching a few dozen Hitler Ranting videos, however, I picked up a few documentaries and news articles specifically relating to Hitler's death and what all went on while the Allied forces were trying to figure out what happened.  One thing that bothers me is that, while most things seem to be cut and dry, Hitler's teeth are a different story.

According to most sources, when the Soviet army was looking for Hitler's corpse, they ran across a corpse that was charred beyond recognition, and they were only able to gather the teeth to use in making an identification.  From there, however, what happens seems to diverge.

From different sources:

A History Channel documentary about a 2009 investigation into Russian evidence of Hitler's death didn't mention the teeth at all, although they were allowed access to all Russian evidence regarding Hitler.
A NatGeo documentary was allowed access to the same evidence, and had both the teeth as well as a 1944 x-ray of Hitler's teeth that prove they belong to him.
A different news source said that the Soviets searched Berlin but weren't able to find any dental records, so they had to find his dentist's assistant, who drew the records from memory.
A different news source said they carried the teeth to the dental assistant in a box and showed them to her, and she gave a positive ID.
All of the sources that mention the dental assistant also mention that no dental records were found, but the Nat Geo documentary doesn't mention the dental assistant but mentions that they actually had X-Rays from 1944.

So, considering that every historical source I've checked has a slightly different story, I was wondering if there was an authoritative historical accounting of what was used to make the positive ID on the teeth, and if this is a case of everyone has a different story or a case of everyone is telling a different part of the same story (such as they didn't have the dental records at first and had to go to the assistant to Hitler's dentist, but then found x-rays or something like that).


texts: Did Poland help Germany take Czechoslavakia before Germany invaded Poland?

texts:
In March of 1939, "with Germany's permission" (WW2 for dummies), Poland invaded Czechoslovakia while Germany was annexing the Sudetenland per the Munich agreement. Only 6 months later, in September, Germany invaded Poland. Was there a loose alliance before the initial invasion that triggered WW2?

I would find that hard to believe since Poland was a result of Germany's defeat in the great war.


texts: Why was John Paul Jones pardoned in Whitehaven in 1999?

texts:
The Wikipedia page for John Paul Jones states that he was pardoned in Whitehaven in 1999 for his raid, but doesn't state why. So far, the article I have found that seems to contain the most information is this one.

The main reason I can think of from that article is that there is some symbolic reason related to either the Whitehaven Maritime Festival or the peace treaty with the US Navy (or both), and that this reason is unrelated to whether John's actions were legal or should be ignored, but this reason doesn't feel correct to me.

So why did Whitehaven pardon John Paul Jones?


texts: To prevent sex were men bound in bags or locked in beds?

texts:
I remember in the past, before marriage, a woman’s family would bind her man when he stayed with her in a sleeping bag or bed.

Essentially it would lock him into this bag/bed thing so he couldn’t leave during the night and come over to her room or something along the lines of that.

I saw it in a movie: The Patriot (2000), I wanted some sort of confirmation of the historical practice if I could get it.


texts: Does anyone know of any examples of the Magnus effect in a real battle?

texts:
I've read a lot about the Magnus effect altering the trajectories of cannonballs and musketballs. Robins noticed it with Musket balls and Magnus with canonballs, but presumably they weren't the first to notice. Does anyone know of any examples of where the Magnus effect was noticed in the theatre of war itself and if so any effects it had on the battle.

This commentary on Robin's Principles of gunnery is one of the major sources: This wired article is another, which mentions Magnus observing cannonballs.  Nothing I have found so far gives any evidence of the Magnus effect being observed in a real battle situation. I can't even find any evidence of Magnus actually having observed the effect in cannonballs in or out of the arena of battle.

To clarify. I'm not looking for examples of where the Magnus effect has been exploited in the battlefield, but rather of examples in which it (or some deviation which was later recognised as the Magnus effect) was observed.


texts:
How did French people greet in 1400?

In particular I'm looking for french expressions that a peasant like Saint Joan of Arc could have used to greet a friend.


texts: What are the figures in the "Goodbye Donald Trump" video

texts:
I am trying to classify the figures in this video

From 0:00 to 0:12 - Statue of Liberty
From 0:14 to 0:20 - Abraham Lincoln
From 0:22 to 0:24 - ?
From 0:25 to 0:33 - ?
From 0:42 to 0:45 - ?
From 0:47 to 0:50 - ?
From 0:50 to 1:00 - Mount Rushmore
From 1:00 to 1:04 - Christ the Redeemer (Rio de Janeiro)
From 1:11 to 1:15 - Two drawings of ?
From 1:29 to 1:35 - George Washington

Can you help me out filling the blanks?
Please don't close this just because one of it is a building. Most are historical figures.


texts: How did the Prussians work out what fraction of the population to recruit to the military?

texts:
Here's a quote from a teacher and author John Taylor Gatto, which I found intriguing:

  The military which is quite an expensive institution to maintain even in times of peace is always constituted at the fraction of 1% to 1.5% of the entire adult male population.  Never heard that before?  That was a rule or principle worked out in Prussian Germany several hundred years ago.  Now your homework is to find out why that fraction.  I'll give you a clue:  the prison population of the United States is very close to the military population in the United States and that fraction too was worked out in Prussian Germany about two-hundred years ago.

Now, I'm not sure of the historical validity of this, nor could I find references to any such percentage... Anyone know if this can be verified?

I specifically want to know if the ruling class of Prussian Germany wanted to keep the military "always constituted at the fraction of 1% to 1.5% of the entire adult male population" and why this was significant (Why not 0.5%, or 2%?). Gatto died last year so there is no way to ask him directly for his source.


texts: When was the last time when there was no electrical lighting switched on on the earth?

texts: It's obvious that now, there is always an electric light 'burning' on earth somewhere.  How far back do we have to go until that was not the case?


texts: Motivation Behind the USSR Assisting China's Nuclear Program

texts:
What motivated the USSR to assist China with the development of Nuclear Weapons?

Why would the USSR want China to have this technology during the 1950s and early 1960s? What did they get out of this transfer of technology?


texts: What has prevented the United Nations from failing the same way as the League of Nations?

texts:
The League of Nations proved to be incapable of controlling the Axis Powers in the 1930s and was subsequently replaced by the United Nations after WWII.

What has kept the United Nations together since 1945 and prevented it from failing in the same way as the League of Nations?


texts: How did Tetricus, the last Gallic Emperor, obtain his agnomen?

texts:
Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was the last emperor of the short-lived Gallic Empire (260–274 AD).

"Tetricus" in Latin means cheerless or dark, which makes me think there may be an anecdote on how he got that nickname.

So far, I searched in Google, Wikipedia, and the Historia Augusta and I have not found anything about its origin.


texts: How far could Mongolian horses travel in a day?

texts: Help! I searched this up on Google and there was nothing, I even looked it up on the Wikipedia. I need information by tomorrow. It is for a project.


texts: How were native laborers on California ranchos treated?

texts: The ranchos established during the Mexican period of California history relied on the labor of native Americans. Unlike the Mission properties, ranchos did not attempt to prevent workers from escaping or to recapture those who had left; but under what conditions did they work? Were they coerced in any fashion? Did any receive a cash salary?


texts: How were horses disembarked from sail ships?

texts:
Back in late 18th century, ship of the line embarked soldiers (e.g. royal marines) that can perform land actions. To disembark, they took place into longboats.

If a specific land action was planned, I imagine they also embarked cavalry. Thus, they must transport horses from the ship to the land without dock facilities. I fail to imagine how they could transfer a horse into a longboat and then from the longboat to the land.

How did they disembark cavalry horses on such unprepared land? I'm more specifically interested in cavalry horses embarked on ship of the line in the late 18th century (I imagine they were transported in lower decks of three-deckers)

EDIT: given comments, I think it is useful to provide context in which this context pops into my mind: I was watching the 4th episode of Hornblower (The Frogs and the Lobsters) that took place in the 1790s. In this episode, marines disembark on a beach. We can see marines disembarking using longboats, and few scenes later we can see a marine officer on an horse. There is a missing step for disembarking the horses from the lower decks of frigates (I imagine you don't store large animals such as horses on the upper deck) to the land and I wonder what it looks like.


texts:
I realize that many people say that Athens is where democracy started, but is there any solid proof that it was the first? On Wikipedia, it is stated that:

  there is evidence to suggest that democratic forms of government, in a broad sense, may have existed in several areas of the world well before the turn of the 5th century.

What would this include? Any specific examples and evidence? If not, then probably just answer so.


texts: How cheap were sailing ships in Gold Rush California?

texts:
Many ships were abandoned in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush as their crews and passengers headed straight for the gold areas. Some became semi-permanent buildings and some became landfill. Their local value was less than their value in other ports, presumably because of the lack of available labor to sail anywhere else. This would have been terrible for the sellers of ships, and great for anyone interested in buying ships.

During this period, how much did the price of sailing ships drop in San Francisco?


texts:
So I am somewhat familiar with the 17th century "agrarian communist" (according to Wikipedia, although I suspect they're closer to anarchists) movement in England known as the Diggers.  I learned of them from the song "The World Turned Upside Down".  I also know that there was a San Fransisco hippie community that appropriated the name.

However, I haven't heard much else about them.  I'm particularly interested in hearing how the diggers influenced English politics both in terms of agrarian and urban settings.  I'd also like to know if the Diggers had any impact outside of the occasional song or name appropriation.


texts: Was Wilhelm II aware of the Franco-Russian Military Convention 1892?

texts:
The second sentence of Article 1 of the Convention reads,

If Russia is attacked by Germany, or by Austria supported by Germany, France shall employ all her available forces to attack Germany.

Article 7 reads,

All the clauses enumerated above shall be kept absolutely secret.

If the secrecy were somehow broken, and Wilhelm II was aware of the treaty, then the enaction of the Schlieffen Plan would seem to be a genuine case of pre-emptive defence.
If he didn't know about this, or at least have strong suspicion along these lines, why enact the Schlieffen Plan on the day (August 1, 1914) he declared war on Russia?
Do we know if he was aware?


texts: What happened to General Eugen Müller after WWII?

texts:
General Eugen Müller wrote the first draft of the infamous Commissar Order. He was, if I understand correctly, something like the top legal officer of the Wehrmacht during WWII (I found different job titles for him, probably a matter of translation).

One would have expected General Müller to have been a prime candidate for the war crime trials that took place after WWII but the wiki article on him is says nothing about his postwar fate. But since the date of death is given as 1951 he must have been doing something for 6 years.

Was he tried? Was he in hiding? What was he doing after the war ended?


texts: Were there documented battles of opposing air aces in World War II?

texts:
From what I understand, Germany and the Soviet Union used their air "aces" differently than say, Americans. After surviving 25 missions, an American ace would be pulled out of the skies and sent home to train new pilots, meaning that their scores typically "topped" out in the 35-40 range.

On the other hand, the Germans and Soviets kept their aces in action until the end of the war. As a result, Germany's Erich Hartmann tallied 352  kills, and the Soviets' Alexander Pokryshkin scored 59 kills.

My understanding is that they could do this was because each flew with large accompanying "protective" screens. That is, they had others protecting them while they fired away against "random" enemy pilots that showed up on their windscreens. In naval terms, it would be as if "battleships" traveled with large protective screens of "destroyers," and their job was to shoot enemy "destroyers" (I'm using ships to describe the pilots' relative ability levels).

Were documented instances of opposing aces fighting each other rather than "small fry"? Better yet, were there any instances of an ace setting out to "get" an enemy ace and succeeding? (A land example would be when Soviet sniper Valery Zaitsev supposedly hunted his German counterpart, Erwin Koenig. This story is disputed, but illustrative of my question.)


texts: Are there any Egyptian hieroglyphs representing four sounds?

texts:
Based on current literature describing the Egyptian language such as Hoch (1994), Allen (2013) and Selden (2015), it adds to my understanding that egyptians developed written phonograms which could represent just one sound, a combination of two sounds such as ms or up to three different sounds such as nfr.

My question is whether there are what one may call quadriliteral or tetraliteral signs standing for four different sounds? If so, where can I find references to them?


texts: What are other ancient encyclopaedic texts like Pliny's "Naturalis Historia" were available to medieval people?

texts:
The German historian of medieval thought, Kurt Flasch claims in one of his books ("Das philosophische Denken im Mittelalter", my translation "philosophical thought in medieval times") the following:

  "If there was any interest in natural history, in botany or mineralogy, for example, people looked for explanations in Pliny's Naturalis Historia."[^1]

I'm wondering if you can think of other works that were available and actually used by medieval natural historians/philosophers. Was aristotle (or at least his natural history) not available to people in the (european) middle ages?

[^1]: "Wenn überhaupt naturkundliche Tatsachen, z. B. der Botanik oder der Mineralogie, Interesse fanden, so suchte man die Erklärungen auf, die in Plinius’ Naturgeschichte gegeben waren."


texts: Did the Japanese try to start peace negotiations while in a position of strength in WWII?

texts: As I understand it, the Japanese plan for the Pacific War was to grab a bunch of territory, then negotiate peace from a position of strength.  Did the Japanese ever try to start those peace negotiations, or did they go from "grab territory" to "no longer in a position of strength" too quickly?


texts: Could Magna Graeca have expanded beyond the Mediterranean sea region?

texts: Between the 700's-500's BC/BCE, the Ancient Greeks sailed to and founded many strategically valuable towns and cities in lands across the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions; (the majority of these cities were situated on or in very close proximity to the coast). Cities, such as Nice, in Southern France, as well Naples in Southern Italy, were Magna Graeca cities.  However, could the Magna Graeca geography have encompassed greater territories and landmasses beyond the Mediterranean sea region?-(excluding the Black Sea region).  Could the Ancient Greeks have sailed beyond The Straits of Gibraltar-(Known in ancient times as, "The Pillars of Hercules") and established cities on the Canary Islands, parts of the West African coast, as well as parts of the West European coast and the Southern portion of the British isles?


texts: In Russia, are the anniversaries of the various events that occurred in 1917 and '18 observed according to the Old Style or the New Style calendar?

texts:
In Russia in 1917 and 1918, a number of important events, including the abdication and assassination of Czar Nicholas, and the Menshevik and Bolshevik revolutions occurred while the Old Style (Julian) calendar was in use. But within a few months of these events, the New Style (Gregorian) calendar was adopted in Soviet Russia.

Do the Russians mark the anniversaries of these events by the Julian Calendar, in which they occurred, or in the Gregorian Calendar?

For instance, is the abdication of the Tsar considered to have occurred on March 2 or March 15?


texts:
My Dad bought this painting and this is the only photo he sent me of it.  I started out looking all over to find resources with military uniforms through history, but they seem to leave out the dress uniforms.

I would say the open breast jacket with the epaulettes and  aiguillettes should be a giveaway to the trained eye.  Any info about uniform ID references or this painting would be greatly appreciated.

--Same


texts:
The question is asked in the context of theories about the use of 'millions' or 'milioni' in association with Marco Polo and the reason for the use of the word as the Italian title for his book, known in English as 'The Travels of Marco Polo' and the Ca' Polo, which is still known as the 'Corte del Milion'.

One of the theories (cited in Moule and Pelliot (1938), p 32, note 3) is that it is an Italian version of Aemilius and that it was Marco's name.

Another that it was on account of either his excessive use of the word or his exaggeration in telling stories, although the word does not appear in his book. (Moule and Pelliot (1938), p 33, note 1), (Yule (1871) p xciv f).

Another that it was because the Ca' Polo was bought for a million (Yule, as above).

These are all credible and substantiated. There is another theory put forward by Benedetto, in his 1928 edition of the work, however, which is that it is based on the family having originated in 'the Venetian Sestiere of Emilione'. (as quoted in Markus and Munkler).

I haven't been able to verify Benedetto's account directly, to see whether he meant a Venetian sestiere, or a region near Venice (eg Emilia-Romagna / Reggio Emilia / Castelfranco Emilia) nor have I been able to find any mention of a Venetian Sestiere called 'Emilione'.

So - my questions are:

1) Is there any record of such a district existing in Venice? I can find no reference to it on contemporary or historic maps I've looked at to date. Nor have I found a reference to a Church of Santa Emilia there, for example.

2) Is there any evidence to connect the Polo family with any of the 'Emilia' regions?


texts:
I recently visited the Basilica di Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome and found that the floor was covered with tombstones. Some of the tombstones simply contained text and decoration, while others included a sculpture of a human figure. Some of the stones were sufficiently worn out that it was difficult to read the text / the details in the face or clothing had been lost.

Is this common in older churches? The only other example I can find onlines is St. John's Co-Cathedral in Malta
Where is the person commemorated in the tombstone typically buried?


texts: How did himuros operate for storing and transporting ice in Heian Japan?

texts: I'm trying to learn more about himuros (ice houses) and ice transportation in 1000 AD Japan. Does anyone have good articles, or can describe in more detail what they looked like, and how ice was stored and transported?


texts: Why did the Soviet Union not "grant" Inner Mongolia to Mongolia after World War Two?

texts:
In the brief Soviet anti-Japanese campaign of 1945, Soviet and Mongol troops entered Inner Mongolia. Mongolia itself had been essentially a client state of the Soviet Union since 1921. Also the communist leadership of Mongolia had pan-Mongolist ideas, which they only abandoned in the 1950s, apparently at Soviet pressure.

So why did the Soviets not grant Inner Mongolia (or at least a substantial part of it) to Mongolia in the immediate aftermath of World War 2? Stalin was not terribly shy of moving large populations, redrawing borders between Soviet client states, etc. I'd appreciate most of all an answer informed by Soviet documents.


texts:
I would like to understand how the Romans minted coins. Mining, smelting and refining are no mystery; I can envision ways in which uniform coin-blanks might have been made : but the big problems are (1) the striking of the coins themselves, and (2) the means of mass production.

The dies were small, and intricate in design, but what tools were used to shape them? Have any tools for die-sinking ever been identified and, if so, what were they made of? Was there any aid to vision? And what was the material of the dies? To withstand repeated hammering of bronze or silver, a die must resist wear and distortion (the stress in stamping gold is significantly less), so was there a hardening process?

And once all that has been settled, how was the necessarily prodigious striking rate achieved? Allowing that a blank stock sufficient to allow uninterrupted striking is plausible is one thing, but at, say one minute per coin, during twelve hours of daylight, one pair of dies would produce 720 coins per day, by which time the die might be quite well worn. At such a rate, to turn out a million coins would need 1,400 working days — and the circulation could actually run into billions of sesterces!

One reads of two opposing dies being struck with a hammer (there are even photographs of them), but I have never come across a believable account of the whole business. The industry would have been a large employer of highly skilled labour, but I can't find any discussion of it. Was there any way of increasing efficiency, in the way that (for instance) the spinning jenny revolutionised the textile industry?

I have already asked this question on the Latin language site, but to no avail. Over the years I've tried to discuss this with all manner of people who I thought might help, but few had paused to think it out. Maybe I've been asking (and looking) in the wrong places. Can anyone point me to ancient sources for solid information?


texts: Why is Afghan Independence Day celebrated on August 19th and not August 8th?

texts:
The Treaty of Rawalpindi (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) was signed on August 8, 1919. The Annexure (same date) states very clearly:

You asked me for some further assurance that the Peace Treaty which the British Government now offer, contains nothing that interfered with the complete liberty of Afghanistan in internal or external matters.
My friend, if you will read the Treaty carefully you will see that there is no such interference with the liberty of Afghanistan. ... the said Treaty and this letter leave Afghanistan officially free and independent in its internal and external affairs.
Moreover, this war has cancelled all previous Treaties.

I have come across many sources claiming that the Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed on August 19, 1919 (e.g. The History of Afghanistan), but this is incorrect.
I have also come across some sources claiming that King Amanullah Khan declared independence on August 19, 1919 (e.g. Afghan Embassy in the US). It is certainly possible that independence was only formally declared 11 days after the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi. However, I have tried but am unable to find any solid confirmation of this and fear that this is merely the above mistake repeated.
There is also one webpage that states:

19 Aug 1919 Independence celebrated (proclaimed 13 Apr 1919).

(One possibility I have considered is that there is some calendar thing going on, similar to the October vs November Revolution. However, I don't know enough about this -- and in particular the Muslim calendar -- to pursue this much further.)


texts: Why didn't the Germans fully exploit the first gas attack near Ypres

texts:
I'm reading up about the second battle of Ypres (April-May 1915) which started with a chlorine gas attack north of the Ypres-salient.

The attack caused a gap of several miles (3 to 4) wide to be opened. Their only obstacle to capturing Ypres (& overrunning the entire salient) was the G.H.Q line. The G.H.Q - line although ideally situated on top of the Pilckem Ridge wasn't adequately staffed at the time and could thus be taken if attacked by a large enough force.

But I read that the Germans didn't have enough reserves to deploy & to capture Ypres, let alone exploit the breakthrough to its fullest. Nor were they apparently fully aware of the potential effects/success of the gas attack. They wasted precious time observing the effects of the gas before attacking with infantry. In the end the opportunity to move in and capture Ypres was lost.

The gas itself was already used in a combat situation at Bolimow (though it partially failed) and was probably (couldn't find records on this) tested in labs. So they must have known the potential of the weapon.

So this leaves me with the following question:  Why didn't the German High Command foresee the possible effects of the gas? And why play out your trump card (the gas) in the first place, if you don't have the manpower to fully exploit a possible breakthrough?


texts: How many electric light companies operated in New York in 1887?

texts:
ConEdison's History page says:

  By 1900, there were more than 30 companies generating and distributing electricity throughout the boroughs of New York City and in Westchester County.

I'm skeptical of their claims, since they have an incentive to present their history in the best possible light.

This Mises Institude essay states:

  Six electric light companies were organized in the one year of 1887 in New York City.

It doesn't give the total in that year. It gives a reference, but I can't find the book in Google Books.

I'm skeptical that there were dozens of electric light companies operating in New York around 1887.

Is there data (or a historical time chart) on the number of electric light companies operating in New York? Is there data on how many choices the average person had to select from competing electric light companies?


texts: Has the strength of the historical-archaeological method ever been tested experimentally?

texts:
Historians routinely draw quite far-reaching conclusions about all aspects of society from archaeological artifacts and textual documents that – naturally – represent only a minuscule fraction of all the artifacts and documents that existed in the time and place that is being investigated.

I have always held doubts about the validity of the boldest of those conclusions and have devised a simple experiment that I believe would shed some light on the strength of the standard methods of the historical-archaeological sciences:

Take a modern society that the historians participating in the experiment (say, United States-based historians specializing in classical European antiquity) are not familiar with (e.g. rural Japan)
Randomly sample artifacts and documents from that society, emphasizing such artifacts and documents that are capable of surviving several centuries
Provide those samples to the historians without any context whatsoever (except for the location of the "find")
Compare the conclusions drawn by the historians with reality

Has an experiment of this type ever been conducted?


texts: What is the source for this story about Plato expelling a student?

texts:
In "Mathematical Apocrypha Redux", Steven Krantz tells the following tale:

  A student of Plato (428 B.C. - 348 B.C.) once asked the great master, "What practical uses do these theorems serve? What is to be gained from them?" Plato's answer was immediate and peremptory. He turned to one of his slaves and said, "Give this young man an obol [a small Greek coin] that he may feel that he has gained something from my teachings. Then expel him."

The story is repeated at King's Way Classical Academy. What is the origin of this story? Is there compelling evidence that it actually happened?


texts: How were state-level suspects identified prior to photography?

texts:
From the point of view of identifying people quickly, with the full, historical coercion level of highly organized states, up to, but not including, development of photographic imaging and telegraphs, c 1860s, how much did our lack of non-photographic "suspect description" or broadcast technologies affect historically known incidents of suspect apprehension successes or failures?

If you were a serial killer/military spy/person blackmailing the hereditary monarch about her propensity for picking her august nose, could you have reasonably slipped out, after being fingered, in the 1500s?  In the 1800s?  Did it happen?

Something like say Mata Hari slipping out because the description was easy to mess up?  Would Napoleon have managed to arrest a known spy?

As you gradually got out of your immediate area of police notoriety, wouldn't you very quickly be able to slip ahead of any organized search?

To be clear, consider anything more recent than railroad and/or telegraph technology out of scope here.


texts: Racism, or Nationalism, represented in 19th century English Wills?

texts:
Lucy Monoux, 1777-1843, was the daughter of a baronet, and rich, owning at least one farm and a large house with its own land. She wrote a will in 1841 leaving ownership of most of her estate to trustees who were to hold it for the use of Charlotte Gordon. Charlotte was born in Madras in 1804, daughter of William Hesse Gordon, paymaster for the East India Company. The family probably moved back to London before 1813. Charlotte was unmarried when the will was made. But there was a catch:

  ... in trust to pay such rents, profits and proceeds to the said Charlotte Catherine Gordon during the term of her natural life, provided she shall not marry any person not born a subject of Great Britain.

Lucy was serious about this:

  And from and after the decease of the said Charlotte Catherine Gordon, or if she (the said Charlotte Catherine Gordon) shall intermarry with any person not born a subject of Great Britain, then immediately from and after such marriage, upon trust, to pay such rents, profits and annual proceeds unto, and to stand possessed of, such part of the remainder of my personal estate as shall not consist of money, or securities for money, and shall not have been disposed of as hereinbefore directed, for and for the sole use of the said Frances Sally Gordon for the term of her natural life, provided she do not marry any person not born a subject of Great Britain.

Spinster Charlotte could live in luxury and ease, but marry  a foreigner and she'd be out on her ear the next day. The same for Frances, who was Charlotte's sister and second in line. If she married a foreigner, she was to be turfed out and one trustee got to keep everything himself.

I know it was common in the past for testators to try and exercise control over their legacy after their death, but I'm puzzled as to just what was going on here.

Was it common in 19th century English wills to stipulate that the beneficiary could not marry a foreigner?

I have tried searching other wills online, but unfortunately "intermarry" is Victorian legalese for "marry", so it turns up lots of results just talking about marrying anyone, not someone with a different status. I'm hoping someone here is familiar with the wills of the time.

I did wonder if this shows Lucy's racism. Charlotte was a child in India and may have had Indian friends and spoken kindly of them, and Lucy was horrified at the idea Charlotte might marry a brown person. But the will specifies "born a subject of Great Britain", prohibiting Charlotte marrying, say, someone from Germany. Queen Victoria had married a German the year before, so that was definitely socially acceptable, but Lucy wouldn't allow it. So was Lucy driven by an extreme nationalism, xenophobia rather than racism? Or, was there some obscure legal reason why the beneficiary of a trust couldn't be allowed to marry abroad, some quirk of ownership of the trust?

Did English 19th century wills ever specify that the beneficiary could only marry someone with white skin?
From knowledge of typical wills of the time, can we tell whether Lucy was expressing her racism? Or whether she was driven by extreme nationalism? Or some legal quirk?

Charlotte was at least slightly touchy about her origins. In the 1871 census, under "Where born", Charlotte has "Madras India British Subject".

In fact, Charlotte married a rich Englishman in 1842, inherited in 1843, and lived until her death in 1885 on the estate left for her use. Frances died before 1885, so the trustees sold everything off then.

A transcript of Lucy's will is here.
A copy of the original can be bought at the National Archives.
Or, with a subscription, is at ancestry.com.


texts: What evidence is Chomsky alluding to when he states the US is preventing a settlement between Israel & Palestine?

texts:
Chomsky in his book Neccesary Illusions, published in 1989 says:

  U.S. ... efforts to prevent a political settlement of the Arab–Israeli conflict over many years, readily documented, but unwelcome and therefore a non-fact.

What is this evidence, and where is it documented?

Has it also been the case between 1989 and the present day?


texts:
According to Plato's version of Socrates's Apology, he was present at the trial. However, I could not find any other historical source which says he either was or wasn't at the trial.

Are there such sources? Is there an agreement among researchers today as to whether he was there or not?