texts: Why are there multiple royal squadrons of the Companion Cavalry?

texts:
The Companion Cavalry was a famous group of horsemen in Ancient Macedonia. They served quite literally as the companions of the Macedonian kings during battle.

Alexander the Great himself rode with them many times during the wars in the east against the Persian Empire from 334 B.C. till his death some ten years later.

According to Nicholas Sekunda the Companion Cavalry was divided into eight squadrons:

  The squadron or ile, commanded by an ilarches (Arr. 1.12.7), numbered
  200 Companions (Arr. 1.18.1; cf. 4.17.3, 22.1).19 When the army
  crossed into Asia the Macedonian cavalry numbered 1,800 (Diod.
  17.17.4), and there were eight ilai, so we must presume that the ‘Royal Squadron’ (basilike ile) was double-strength

From: Roisman, Joseph, and Ian Worthington, eds. A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. Vol. 84. John Wiley & Sons, 2011

In Arr. An. 3.11.8, however, there seem to be multiple royal squadrons present at the battle of Gaugamela. (emphasis mine)

  τὸ μὲν δεξιὸν αὐτῷ εἶχον τῶν ἱππέων οἱ ἑταῖροι, ὧν προετέτακτο ἡ ἴλη ἡ
  βασιλική, ἧς Κλεῖτος ὁ Δρωπίδου ἰλάρχης ἦν, ἐπὶ δὲ ταύτῃ ἡ Γλαυκίου
  ἴλη, ἐχομένη δ᾽ αὐτῆς ἡ Ἀρίστωνος, ἐπὶ δὲ ἡ Σωπόλιδος τοῦ Ἑρμοδώρου,
  ἐπὶ δὲ ἡ Ἡρακλείδου τοῦ Ἀντιόχου, ἐπὶ ταύτῃ δὲ ἡ Δημητρίου τοῦ
  Ἀλθαιμένους, ταύτης δὲ ἐχομένη ἡ Μελεάγρου, τελευταία δὲ τῶν βασιλικῶν
  ἰλῶν ἧς Ἡγέλοχος ὁ Ἱπποστράτου ἰλάρχης ἦν. ξυμπάσης δὲ τῆς ἵππου τῶν
  ἑταίρων Φιλώτας ἦρχεν ὁ Παρμενίωνος.

  His right wing was held by the Companion cavalry, the royal squadron
  in the front; it was commanded by Cleitus son of Dropides; in
  successive order came those of Glaucias, Aristo, Sopolis
  son of Hermodorus, Heraclides son of Antiochus, Demetrius son
  of Althaemenes, Meleager, and lastly that [of the royal squadrons] commanded by
  Hegelochus son of Hippostratus. The Companion cavalry as a whole was
  commanded by Philotas son of Parmenio.

Translation by Rzepka, Jacek. "The units of Alexander’s army and the district divisions of late Argead Macedonia." Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 48.1 (2008): 39-56.

The text between brackets was added by me to make clear where Arrian's text uses the term "royal squadron" again.

Note: The use of plural here seems unusual, especially when reading Arr. An. 3.8.1.

Here Arrian clearly speaks about the royal squadron as a singular unit. Next to that he also refers to one regular squadron of the Companion cavalry.

  ἀναλαβὼν οὖν τήν τε βασιλικὴν ἴλην καὶ τῶν ἑταίρων μίαν καὶ τῶν
  προδρόμων τοὺς Παίονας ἤλαυνε σπουδῇ

  Alexander therefore took the royal squadron of cavalry, and one
  squadron of the Companions, together with the Paeonian scouts, and
  marched with all speed.

Translation from The Anabasis of Alexander; or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great.  (1884)  by Arrian, translated by E. J. Chinnock

The question: Why did Arrian refer to the royal squadron of the Companion Cavalry as multiple units in this specific case?


texts: Is there a population density map of pre-Columbian South America?

texts:
I have found such maps for North America, e.g. this one:

But never for the southern continent. The goal is a broad overview. How many Lokono were there, compared to the Mapuche (and the Cree for that matter)? I am generally curious what places were considered "urban" in South America, especially outside the Inca Empire.

A map of primary subsistence (agrarian, hunter-gatherer, etc.) of that continent would also be helpful.


texts: How much gold did humans possess by century starting with Neolithic?

texts:
Where can I find an approximate chart of total mass of metallic gold in possession of humans by centuries starting with Neolithic?

I also would like to see this detailed by civilization/culture.


texts: How were the ladies of the Mughal harem titled and styled?

texts:
The ladies of the contemporaneous Ottoman harem were, for most of its history, organised as follows:

The sultan's mother, under the title of Valide Sultan, stood at the apex of the hierarchy.
Next came the sultan's four favourite concubines, having the title Kadın.
Next came those concubines whom the sultan had slept with at least once, having the title of Ikbal.
At the bottom of the hierarchy were the other concubines and servant girls, having the title Cariye.

The most senior kadın, for example, would be styled, in full, as Devletlu İsmetlu [given name] Başkadınefendi Hazretleri, and might be addressed as Başkadınefendi.

Is it possible to draw up a similar hierarchy and titulary for the ladies of the Mughal harem?


texts:
In the Articles of Confederation, the United States' founding fathers provided for Canada (in the form of the Province of Quebec) to join as a 14th state.  However, Canada didn't take advantage of it and that option was removed when the Constitution was drafted in 1788.  Quebec was later sub-divided into Upper and Lower Canada in 1791, rendering it moot anyway.

Presuming that the Constitution had kept the Articles' clause, which part of Canada would Washington, Adams, and the rest of the leaders of the US have been willing to admit to the USA under that clause?  Was either part considered a "more legitimate" successor to the previous province?  Would both have been acceptable as states (presuming they were willing)?


texts: How long would it take to build 30 miles of Roman road?

texts:
Say there's a route of 30 miles length in need of a road. Assume ready availability of stone and lime and possibly other materials. Some gentle slopes, no particularly adverse terrain or flora/fauna.

How long would it take for a team of road builders to complete construction, approximating Roman empire standard, assuming Roman empire technology? And how big would that team typically be?


texts: What does the abbreviation "adhib." mean in historiography or archival science?

texts:
What does the abbreviation

adhib.

mean in the context of historiography and archival science?

Remarks.

This question is not about the meaning in medicine. This is easy to look  up.
Of course, literally it seems to mean 'to be administered/used', so my guess is that the abbreviation is used to emphasize what part of the given reference is relevant to the topic at hand.
An example of the use I am asking an explanation of is to be found in the book

  James C. Albisetti, ''Secondary School Reform in Imperial Germany''
  Princeton University Press, 2014
  ISBN 1400853087
  380 pages

where e.g. on page 229 the abbreviation is used in a footnote:


texts: Is there still controversy among historians and archaeologists about the exact date of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD?

texts:
Fresh fruit, olives, and vegetables in the shops are typical of October, and conversely the summer fruit that would have been typical of August was already being sold in dried, or conserved form. The coins found in the purse of a woman buried in the ash include a commemorative coin that should have been minted at the end of September. This looks like strong evidence against the traditional August 24th dating, which relies on literature.

It's Wikipedia though...


texts: What kind of fence is used at this British airfield?

texts:
I am just working on a colorization of a Heinkel He 162. To get the color right, I have to know what kind of fence is used on the airfield. My best guess would be wood, but it can also be metal.

Is there someone who knows what this could be?

EDIT: I found out that the He 162, Werksnummer 120086, as seen in the photo, has been "caught" by the British and therefore, this is a photo captured on a British airfield.


texts: I believe it's the T-34, but a friend of mine argued that it was the Tiger. It all depends on which period of WW2 you look at, but overall, which was the best ?


texts: How can we make claims of ancient alcohol consumption based on chemical analysis of remains?

texts:
Inspired by this question: Did early northern Europeans drink alcohol? and Wikipedia articles, I had to wonder...

How can the presence of alcohol in ancient pots support a conclusion that it was absorbed from its contents (that the pots contained alcoholic beverages) and that it was not due to fermentation of residue, or by some other means - in other words, incidental? Some of these finds apparently predate written language by millenia, so there is no written record of the actual, intentional contents.

I suppose the question is: given a finding of alcohol in an ancient pot, what supports the conclusion that it was present in the original contents intentionally?


texts: Why was Kentucky not admitted to the Union in 1789?

texts:
At the beginning of July 1788, the unicameral Congress of the Confederation began deliberations on whether to admit the proposed new state of Kentucky to the Union. Under the Articles of Confederation, each of the thirteen states could cast one vote on each measure in Congress, and nine states were needed to admit a state to the Union. Kentucky was a part of Virginia and the legislature of Virginia had consented to making it a separate state.

Congress's deliberations were interrupted by a notification that New Hampshire had just become the ninth state to ratify the proposed new Constitution, so that it became effective in the ratifying states. They passed a resolution saying it would be "unadvisable" to admit a new state under those circumstances.

That it would have opened some major cans of worms can be seen when one considers that the new Constitution named the thirteen states and not any new states, and said how many representatives each would have in Congress until the census data became available, without mentioning any new states, and granted to the new bicameral Congress the power to admit new states.

Alexander Hamilton, then a member of the legislature of New York, predicted in 1788 that one of the first things to be done by the new bicameral Congress the following year would be the admission of Kentucky to the Union. He used that as one of his arguments in favor of New York's renouncing its disputed claim to sovereignty over Vermont and consenting to Vermont's admission to the Union, so the the additional southern representation in the Senate would be balanced by additional northern representation.

But Congress did not admit Kentucky to the Union in 1789. Why not?

One guess would be that maybe they were too busy. They had to write all the new federal laws, approve appointments to every federal judgeship on the Supreme Court and all lower federal courts, decide which departments would exist in the executive branch and approve appointments to head them, approve appointments of ambassadors, etc. But that's just a guess.

And in 1790 they still didn't admit Kentucky.

In February 1791 they decided to admit Kentucky and Vermont. The act admitting Kentucky was passed two weeks before the act admitting Vermont, but it provided that Kentucky would not be admitted until well over a year later, whereas Vermont was admitted just two weeks after the bill was passed.

So why did they wait until 1791 to admit Kentucky?


texts: How accurate/realistic is the conception of 'the kindly slave owner'?

texts:
I'm reading an historical fiction novel New York by Edward Rutherfurd at the moment.

One of the early chapters, set in New Amsterdam (New York City) in the mid 17th century, is told from the perspective of a slave owned by a Dutchman. This Dutch slaveowner is depicted as a 'kind slaveowner'. Some specific details:

The slave's role appears to be as a domestic servant and a labourer, his tasks are fetching things, opening doors for guests, waiting on guests, running errands around town.
The slave is never whipped. (Except once, as a child, where he is whipped alongside the slaveowner's son, when they broke a window).
When the slaveowner rents the slave out to others, he gives some of the money he recieves to the slave.
As a child the slave plays with the slaveowner's children.
The slaveowner agrees to free the slave, and his family (wife and son) when the slaveowner dies.

What I'm wondering - is this depiction of slavery accurate and commonplace enough for the time and culture - or is this fanciful writing?


texts: Were sermons in the Middle Ages devoted to Old Testament or New Testament subjects?

texts: Were they more often devoted to New Testament subjects or to Old Testament subjects?


texts: What was meant by the protest sign "Bundestag nach Berlin"?

texts:
The recent article "The Fall of the Berlin Wall in Photos: An Accident of History That Changed The World" included this image:

captioned, "A mass demonstration against construction of the Berlin Wall on Aug. 16, 1961.Credit...Terry Fincher/Mirrorpix, via Getty Images".

You can see two different placards with the words
"Bundestag nach BERLIN" which Google translated to mean "Bundestag to Berlin".

I understand that the Bundestag is the (West) German parliament. But what is the significance of this statement in context? What did it have to do with construction or protest of the Berlin Wall?


texts: Why did the Germans not encircle and besiege Stalingrad?

texts:
The Germans spent a large amount of manpower in adverse territory for this city, even after long exhausting continuous combat.

After the war, Kliest wrote:

  The capture of Stalingrad was subsidiary to the main aim. It was only of importance as a convenient place, in the bottleneck between Don and the Volga, where we could block an attack on our flank by Russian forces coming from the East. At the start, Stalingrad was no more than a name on the map to us.

Yes it is a fact that Stalingrad was not significantly resourceful to fight for.
Why then did the Germans, after seeing that it was to be a long affair, not just encircle the city? Instead they kept fighting for it in close quarter combat for the city's buildings, which is almost always a disadvantageous, slowing and depleting affair for an invading force. Considering the momentum of their initial advance, could they have fared better by crossing the Volga, and laying siege to city?


texts: Historical assessments of the effectiveness of torture

texts:
With the Senate Torture report in the news, one of the arguments against torture is that it is ineffective: torturing someone just makes them tell you anything they think will make the torture stop, leading to a lot of unreliable information that must now be investigated to find any, if, useful information.

Do we know of any historical assessments of the effectiveness of torture? What were the Gestapo's views on torture, or those of the KGB? I read about Hanns Scharff the other day, a successful German interrogator during WW2 who expressly opposed the use of physical torture, but then on the other hand torture has been and is widely used.

It's maybe also worth to specify that this is about the effectiveness of torture for extracting reliable information one couldn't get without it, not whether torture is effective for punishing people or deterring others.


texts: What social problem would be solved by a GuoMinDang attack on Shanghai in 1927?

texts:
Professor Schwiedrzik's script (distribution limited to Viennese university students), elaborates that during the northern expedition two factions formed within the GuoMinDang in 1927. The left one was influenced by Borodin, the Russian adviser. It wanted to attack Beijing early on. The right one, Chiang Kaishek and his supporters, wanted to take Shanghai first.

The script repeatedly states the right group wanted to solve the "social problem" first, while the left group wanted to achieve national unification by sacking the capital.

I have searched my textbook and tried hard to find resources online, but I have no idea what "social problem" was to be remedied by taking Shanghai. I am hoping for your support.

In the accounts that I am familiar with, a split between left and right is pictured after the incident/massacre at Shanghai. But this script mentions a split even before and a "social problem" I can't find anything about.

Furthermore, it doesn't appear like social problems were Chiangs main concern at all. As far as I gather, he was greatly aided in taking Shanghai by a communist uprising. But as soon as the city was taken he started a purge of the communists and allied with those who thought their demands were extreme!


texts: Can the Queen of England fire the prime minister of Australia?

texts: My Australian friend says yes. I'm not so sure, considering the monarchy collects no taxes from England, much less a country in the commonwealth. What's the verdict? Can she say "you're fired" and Tony Abbot is out?


texts: Is the Persian name or title Khosrow related to the name Caesar?

texts:
From what I understand Khosrow I, being the leader of the Persian Empire of 532 CE, had the title/name. What is the origin of the name Khosrow?

According to Google Translate, "khosrow" in Persian means King, but I was unable to determine if that meaning came first or Khosrow I did or Julius Caesar did.


texts: Did the Minoans practise human sacrifice?

texts:
Excavations on the hill of Kydonia, near Chania in Crete, where the third largest palace of the Minoan civilization was, revealed a small area fenced by rocks in the yard, with many animal bones and among them, the remains of a young woman. Another skeleton, of a young man, was found in a room in the "temple" of Anemospilia, in the northern end of Mount Iuktas, near Heraclion.
These finds have created a lot of discussion about human sacrifice in ancient Crete. Do we have conclusive evidence that the Minoans practised human sacrifice?


texts: Since when is the Nile Delta known as "Delta"?

texts:
It is common knowledge that the Nile delta looks roughly triangular in form, hence roughly like a greek capital delta (especially when on a map oriented with the south on top). According to wikipedia, the Arabic name of the Nile delta is also delta (or dalta), which may or may not mean that this name is fairly old.
How old is the name "delta" for this geographical feature? Has it already been used by ancient authors?
The wikipedia article on the delta (at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_Delta) cites some ancient authors, but since I understand neither Latin nor Ancient Greek it is a bit hard for me to check these sources myself.


texts: When and why did the use of the lifespans of royalty to limit clauses in contracts come about?

texts:
I am in the process of attempting to buy a house in the UK; as it has stood for about a hundred years, the deeds feature some unusual clauses. For example, this conveyance from 1921:

(Subject to any necessary consent of the local authority) The right at any time or times prior to the expiration of a period commencing on the 22nd day of December 1920 and terminating on the 20th anniversary of the death of the last survivor of the issue now living of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria to make connection with all or any of the part of the hereinbefore mentioned storm water drains and sewers which shall be so constructed and laid on the Vendor's land by the Secretary of State and to make use of the said storm water drains and sewers for the passage and running of water and soil from the said King's Weston Estate or any part or parts thereof or any building erected or to be erectd on any part of the said Estate PROVIDED NEVERTHELESS that all such connections shall be made and maintained by and at the expense of the Vendor his heirs or assigns and to the reasonable satisfaction of the Secretary of State his successors or assigns and that the Vendor his heirs or assigns shall henceforth pay and bear a fair proportion of the cost of maintaining those parts of the said storm water drains and sewers and their accessories which shall carry the water and soil discharged thereinto by the Vendor his heirs or assigns and that if the capacity of the said storm water drains and sewers shall be insufficient to allow of the reception of the water and soil aforesaid or if consequent upon such reception the capacity of the said storm water drains and sewers shall at any time become insufficient to meet the drainage requirements for the time being of the Secretary of State his successors or assigns then in either of such cases the Vendor his heirs or assigns shall pay the cost of any necessary enlargements of the said storm water drains and sewers which the Secretary of State his successor or assigns shall think fit to make.

Apologies for the apparent lack of formatting - that is genuinely how it appears, punctuation apparently being a luxury at the time it was drafted. What I'm curious about is the use of the life (+20 years) of 'the issue' (her own children?) of Queen Victoria being used to establish a time limit on this clause.
Another condition, added in 1973, (which I'll spare you the similar wall-of-text for) starts similarly:

If at any time during the lives of the descendants now living of His late Majesty King George V and the life of the last survivor of them and twenty-one years after the death of such last survivor (such period being hereinafter referred to as “the perpetuity period”)...

I assume it was not permitted to specify a 'perpetuity period' that was unbounded. But how did unknowable time spans (rather than, say, 99 year terms) come to be favoured for legal documents of this type? Would it always be expressed in relation (ha!) to a monarch, alive or dead? How far up/down the family tree could one reasonably go? Is this still used today (and thus my ignorance is of legal rather that historical matters), and if not, what changed?


texts: When was the first airborne combat drop?

texts:
I know that airborne troops became famous in WWII, but was that the first time they actually fought after parachuting into the combat zone?
What was the first instance in which paratroopers in an airborne unit from any country dropped into combat from airplanes using parachutes?


texts: Was the introduction of paper money controversial like cryptocurrency?

texts:
I dont know much about cryptocurrency, but I know it is controversial. There are people on both sides.

Is there historical evidence that paper money faced a similar thing? Were there people that initially opposed/argued against the use of paper money?


texts: Remarks by Kirill Khlebnikov reproduced in "California Through Russian Eyes" by Gibson, p. 332, say that one defector from Fort Ross had headed to Mexico. Who was the unnamed defector?


texts: Is the Sri Lankan Civil War really over?

texts: I was wondering whether the Sri Lankan Civil War, which officially ended, would technically considered to be still ongoing, since there are still clashes going on to this day. Would this classify as a war, something more minor, or irrelevant?


texts:
Since forever, people have subjugated each other to demand labor or resources. A monarchic or centralized power that subjugates several other peoples is an empire.

Half a dozen European empires expanded into the Americas during the Age of Exploration. With the help of infectious disease, these powers defeated lots of local tribes, and some larger groups. Best known are Spain's conquests of the Aztec empire in Tenochtitlán and the Incan empire in Cuzco.

Did other American empires also fall to the Europeans?

Some specific exclusions as I understand them: the Iroquois Confederacy was an important power but association in it was voluntary. The Taíno and Tupi cultures were widely distributed but had no central government to conquer. The Chimú empire was conquered by the Incas shortly before Europeans arrived.


texts: What does "the anointed of the Lord" mean?

texts:
While reading the Cyrus the Great in the Wikipedia, I found the mentioned sentence in this paragraph:

Cyrus the Great respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered.[13] It is said that in universal history, the role of the Achaemenid empire founded by Cyrus lies in its very successful model for centralized administration and establishing a government working to the advantage and profit of its subjects.[8] In fact, the administration of the empire through satraps and the vital principle of forming a government at Pasargadae were the works of Cyrus.[14] What is sometimes referred to as the Edict of Restoration (actually two edicts) described in the Bible as being made by Cyrus the Great left a lasting legacy on the Jewish religion where because of his policies in Babylonia, he is referred to by the people of the Jewish faith, as "the anointed of the Lord".[15][16]

I guess something positive after word by word translating to Farsi but I am not sure about the right meaning and think it refers to a religious historical believe.


texts: What sorts of things would a 16th century explorer document?

texts: For a project, I must re-create a journal of a [made up] 16th century explorer. They were a sailor who sailed to the Pacific Ocean via the Cape Horn route in the 16th century, similar to Willem Schouten. What sorts of things might they document in their journal? The weather? Their food stores? Their route?


texts: Did any other countries try to breed a race out like what happened in Australia?

texts:
In Australia's History, the Europeans tried to breed out Aboriginals colour by pairing a Aboriginal Woman with a White Man. They did this because they believed...

That Aboriginals were a dying race
That Australia was a 'white mans' country
If they did this than if they had a baby it would be a quarter white and so on until the black colour was gone

My question is did any other countries do this and was this an effect of Transnational History. This happened around about the time of the Stolen Generation in about the 1909's 1969 I think.

Answers are appreciated.


texts: The difference between the houses of Ancient Athens and Ancient Crete and how that was affected by woman's status

texts:
I have been researching lately about woman in ancient Greece and I concluded that ancient Athenian homes were constucted in a way that assisted the lives of women, meaning they had many rooms to live in and had a good overview of the household, as they were expected to do by the society.
On the other hand, ancient Cretans had a different view on womanhood and their lives were different. How is that depicted in their architecture respectively?


texts: Did the Horatii brothers take an oath as depicted in the painting Oath of the Horatii?

texts:
In the Oath of the Horatii, the Horatii brothers are depicted taking an oath before their father, with their sisters mourning at the side:

I would like to know whether there is any mention or evidence of the depicted oath in Roman sources. Do our sources tell that this oath took place in the way it is displayed in this painting?

I am inclined to think that this is not the case. Several reasons come to mind:

Livy doesn't mention that the combatants took an oath of any kind.
Livy states that the Roman army went out to meet the Alban forces, so it might be assumed that women stayed at Rome. Thus, by the time the combat between the Horatii and the Curiatii was arranged, it wouldn't have been possible for the brothers' sisters to be there and witness (and mourn) the oath.
In fact, Livy explains that Camilla, who had been engaged to one of the Curiatii brothers, first saw her surviving brother when he returned to Rome, thereby implying that she (and, quite possibly, all women) had stayed at the city.

It could be possible to spot mistakes here and there. Attire and architecture could be, as it often happens, good nitpick or discussion sources. For instance, the helmet crest might not have been used at the time of the combat; if I recall correctly, it is first mentioned in the period of the first wars against the Gauls, during the times of the Republic. However, such details would not contradict the represented act of the oath, in the case that it were true, so they are not relevant to my question.

I am aware that it is possible that the author of the painting based his work not on the Roman sources, but on depictions and other derivative works, like the play Les Horaces. However, I am only interested in actual sources and the painting's concordance with them.


texts:
Do any historians consider the Cold War, or Cold War II, to be going on?

I'm asking because some features of the Cold War still exist, such as an antagonism between Russia and the Western world, and the war in Ossetia, which reminds of the Cold-War proxy wars.


texts: Was "the modern cocktail" intended to mask the foul taste of Prohibition-era liquor?

texts:
I have long suspected that what we know today as a "cocktail" was invented to mask the taste of bad liquor.  Indeed I've found several unsupported assertions to this effect online, generally pointing to an alleged Prohibition-era ruse (sweet ingredients, very cold temperature, fancy glass, adornments, etc.) to hide the awful taste of much bootleg gin.  (At this point I feel compelled to point out that gin does not need to be bootleg to taste awful.)

I'm interested in locating some researched/documented support for all this.

EDIT: The use of the word "cocktail" to refer to an alcoholic drink is certainly older than the Prohibition.  By "modern cocktail", I'm referring to 20th century concoctions.  My question is not about the origin of the word, but rather about the origin of using sweeteners, ice, and decorations to make unpalatable alcoholic drinks easier to swallow, and more precisely, I'm looking for researched/documented support (if such exists) for unsupported claims that during the Prohibition, cocktails became a popular solution to the problem of dealing with foul-tasting liquor.  (The simplest support for this I can think of would be evidence of a sharp increase in the number of sweet cocktails whose invention can be dated to the Prohibition era, with all the usual controls for confounders, etc.)


texts: Did German Princes during the Protestant Reformation often live in castles?

texts: I'm writing a short story based on Snow White. My research tells me the story took place during the late 16th century. The timeline of my story coincides with the Protestant Reformation. I am wondering if the proper setting of my story should be in a castle. The father of my main character's title is only Prince since in the timeline the Emperor/King is still Charles V like in our history. Based on this would a castle be the proper setting for this story?


texts: Did the date of 9/11 have significance, or was it chosen randomly?

texts:
One thing I've been wondering about ever since 9/11 is whether the date was randomly chosen, or if it was chosen specifically for its resemblance to the American emergency hotline 9-1-1 (or something else)?

It seems like a fairly bizarre coincidence for such a devastating attack to take place on the one day of the year whose date roughly translates to "disaster," but then it also seems rather odd (and kind of comic-book-villain-y, frankly) to time an attack in such a themed way.  Also, the rest of the world (as I understand it) would write the date 11-9-2001, which would seem to argue against the connection, except that it was targeted against one of the only nations who would write it 9-11-2001.

Have any Al-Qaida prisoners or documents revealed whether there was any thought put into the timing of the 9/11 attacks?  Was the 9-1-1 connection purely coincidental?  Were the attacks timed to coincide with something else, like an anniversary of something or a date with special meaning to Al-Qaida or bin Laden?  Was there something about early September that made the attacks easier to pull off?  Or was the date just chosen at random, without any larger significance at all?

I haven't seen any interviews, exposés, documents or anything else that would point one way or the other.  Has anyone seen any definitive word on this?


texts: Were Korean and Tibetan rulers ever styled as 'sons of heaven'?

texts:
Chinese dynasts adopted the term "Son of Heaven" or "Son of [the god] Tian" (天子) during the early Zhou period around the turn of the 1st millennium BCE, and continued using it until the overthrow of the Qing. This term was later adopted by both the Japanese and Vietnamese Emperors in the 7th and 10th centuries CE respectively (though with varying implications in relation to their connection with celestial forces and their ruling philosophies).

There are two obvious omissions (to my own limited knowledge) amongst the major countries within the Chinese sphere of influence: Korea and Tibet. Did Korean or Tibetan monarchs ever use the term "Son of Heaven" (or local language equivalent) as a regnal title?


texts: Why are baseball pitches that miss the strike zone called "balls"?

texts:
Many baseball terms have clear origin stories, such as "strike", which originally meant to actually swing or strike the bat at the ball. (The non-swinging strike didn't come about until decades after the game was invented.)
What about the term "ball"? I assume that it has a fairly simple explanation, such as a shortening of "missed ball", but I haven't found anything discussing its origin.


texts: Why is the snake or asp the primary logo of medicinal organisations?

texts:
As an Army Medic and now a workplace First Aider I see the asp used as a logo almost everywhere.

Why was it chosen as the animal of choice for the medicinal profession and is there any animal or natural alternatives in use around the world?


texts: What were officers' casualty rates among the major powers of WWII?

texts:
Out of the major powers of WWII (Germany/Japan/Italy, USSR/US/UK/China, perhaps others), what were their officers' casualty rates? Were any unusually low or high?

Officers are important parts of armies; the loss of a unit's officers in battle greatly diminishes their effectiveness, they are also hard to replace, as it usually takes years to train one. Between different armies, officer casualty rates might differ for many reasons, like how effectively their tactics protect their officers, or how much their doctrine places them at risk, like leading from the front, or emphasising personal heroism.

I tried looking online, but usually the statistics are specific to one country, or a comparison between branches and eras. I would like to see a comparison across the different powers of WWII.


texts: In Montgomery, Alabama, how common was it to be arrested for sitting in the incorrect section of the bus?

texts:
Rosa Parks' arrest, which led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, is the most famous case, while Claudette Colvin is often listed as the first. (Sometimes she is listed as first, other times as the first in 1955). Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, Mary Louise Smith and Jeanette Reese were also arrested in 1955.

How common was it to be arrested? The buses were segregated since 1900, are there any stats on number of arrests per year?


texts: Did Africans defeat Europeans in battle between 1850 and 1950?

texts: The battle of Adwa was fought between Italians and Ethiopians in northern Ethiopia in 1896. The Italians were defeated  and it was the greatest victory for Africans. Were there any other battles where Africans defeated Europeans between 1850 and 1950?


texts: What exactly is this 1795 German "Berichte" Document?

texts:
I came across this document on Google Books and I am trying to interpret exactly what it is.

Title: Berichte Published 1795 from the Bavarian State Library 24 pages

My root question is "What is this document and purpose?" At first glance it looks like it could simply be a generic military field report, a reprimand, or a possibly even a praise or award depending on the context in which the wording is taken. Based on the answer it will help me determine next steps, if any, to see if it might be of value for my research.

Almost all documents in book have the same "L.S" stamp and signature "b. Rulmann ass. qua secret. regime."

I have used Google Translate and Dict.cc to do the very rough translation of but not able to translate the entire thing: Berichte translate to "Report, Proceedings, or Transactions" according to Dict.cc.

  Page header: Umlagen ~ “Shares in the Cost” - Gvmäßheit one from Sr. royal majesty of Prussia meines' ak, lergnÄdigsten Herrn Department of Foreign Affairs me issued eu supreme command, shall the job Wilh. Säußer, Joh. Wich Schulz, Philip Säußer, Wilh. Hayn und Joh. Wilh. Krumscheid hereby is in all seriousness, that fie not to further catch! Sr. Kin^ adjusted Majesty accepted, subject to those same of by his majesty. ettionsauftrags. With immediate ideas tthat what they highest only to the tompetente höchste Supreme court to refer, l« behellige»., The Supplicanren are as individual deputies Banerngemeinen ohnehiy, not authorized, Name of the whole tandes occur, and it is most daring and jZrafbar ^ if, they are and on the basis of the judgment given insights Kayserlichea mandates adopted Maas rules in their immedjacen input un befitting expressions have erlaubet.  Since King Sr. have already geruhet "US own motion Majesty graciously as «previous stärtere cavalry") etafchement by about half weaker infantry commando ablös to let as such, more grace / supplicant as he l ^ ^ ons Hey its detachment sen's permit always persistent/constant threat/permanent disability insubordination/obstructiveness/resistence have to expect…


texts: Is the first visually recorded use of anti-cavalry defences on the Bayeux Tapestry?

texts: The Norman cavalry was feared throughout Northern France before October 1066. Are there any depictions of a working defence against them before Harold II?


texts: How long did it take to sail from Philadelphia to Boston in the 1700s?

texts: How long did it usually take to sail from Philadelphia to Boston in the 1700s?  I've been able to find lots of sources talking about sailing time between England and the colonies, but I haven't found anything yet about sailing time between the colonies.


texts: Did the Latins see the Etruscans as a plague?

texts: I've read that Latins considered the Etruscans as a plague. However, it seems that the Etruscans (being peaceful merchants) were more civilized and educated than the Latins.


texts: What happened to the Heart of Atlanta motel after the ruling of Heart of Atlanta v. United States?

texts:
The Heart of Altanta Motel was a resort motel in Georgia that infamously sued the United States for the right to discriminate against customers against the provisions of the public accommodations section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Heart of Atlanta, Inc. v. United States became a landmark Supreme Court ruling upholding the validity of the Act.
Information about the motel itself, however, is very scarce. I was able to find one blog post that appears well-researched describing the motel in its heyday. The fate of the motel after this case seems completely undocumented, however. Today, the Hilton Atlanta stands where Heart of Atlanta Motel once stood, but I can't find any information about when the motel closed or why. Did bad publicity spell swift doom for the business? If not, how long did it continue to operate before it was bought out and demolished?
When and why did the Heart of Atlanta Motel close?


texts: What was this slender hooked rod thing that John Wilkes Booth posed with?

texts:
In this photo (¿daguerreotype?):

John Wilkes Booth is posing with some kind of hooked rod.  It does not seem to be a pipe, cane, umbrella, or writing instrument.

What is it?

Here are 2 more pics with the same thing (may be from the same session):


texts: Are these uniforms credible for American sailors just after WW2?

texts:
In the 1961 French film Lola (set in the Atlantic French harbour Nantes), American soldiers wear the white uniforms seen below:

Was this uniform typical for these soldiers in Nantes following WW2?

Are these uniforms credible?
Or are they fabrications designed to produce a particular cinematographic effect? (for instance giving an impression of light in the otherwise rather dark setting of the film)
I am especially talking about the white color.


texts: Would an illegitimate child of a monarch have been recognized at the Russian court?

texts: For purposes of a novel I am writing I would like to know if an illegitimate son or daughter of a 19th century Russian tsar would have been recognized by the court. Would it matter if the birth was before or after the tsar's coronation?


texts: Are there historical statistics about the number of market towns?

texts:
As a way to understand changes in the middle ages, I want to know the development of market towns. Particularly, I am looking for the increase in their number, organised by country and period (e.g. century).

So far I haven't found much. For instance, Wikipedia states:

  The Domesday Book of 1086 lists 50 markets in England. Some 2,000 new markets were established between 1200 and 1349.

The reference provided continues:

  After this date, the Black Death caused many markets to be abandoned. It has been estimated that there were about 760 official markets during the Tudor and Stuart period.

Wikipedia also mentions a "systematic study of European market towns between the 13th and 15th century" made by Braudel and Reynold. It might refer to the book "Civilization and Capitalism, 15th–18th Century". I searched through it but has no statistical analysis of different countries and periods. There are some statistics, as the one reflected in the map below, but no spatial-temporal comparative analysis.

Are you aware of a systematic, country-period analysis of the evolution of market towns?


texts: Where did the demand for textiles during the industrial revolution come from?

texts:
A lot of the technological developments in the early-ish industrial revolution in Britain were about increasing the rate and efficiency of textile manufacture. It's easy to find material about what these innovations were and who was responsible for them, but in order for it to have all been worthwhile there must have been an enormous (or at least increasing) unmet demand for textiles.

It seems to be hard (at least on a cursory first glance by a non-expert) to find anything about the demand side of the story - I would like more details about it. For example: Why was there such a huge unmet demand for textiles during that time? What were the main uses of the cotton and wool fabrics that were being produced? (E.g. was it mostly clothes or were there major industrial uses as well?) Were they mainly being consumed domestically or abroad, and if the latter, where? Did the demand for textiles greatly increase before or during the industrial revolution, or had the textile market always been limited by production capacity?


texts:
I have been assigned a monograph about the countries of real socialism. While I understand the topic and have been successful at writing up the work, I am having difficulty in finding a definition for the term 'real socialism' (which would form the introduction). I intuit that the adjective 'real' establishes a difference between the pursued (socialist) ideal and the social and economic reality in the countries of the Eastern Bloc. However, the pieces of information strictly about the term that I have found are scarce and even a bit contradictory.

For instance, in the corresponding Wikipedia article, it is not clear when exactly was the term invented (and by who). Moreover, there seems to be a conflict between the two paragraphs of the introduction:

  The term referred to the Soviet-type economic planning enforced by the
  ruling communist parties at that particular time.

Then, in the second paragraph:

  From the 1960s onward, countries such as Poland, the German Democratic
  Republic, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, began to argue that their
  policies represented what was realistically feasible given their level
  of productivity, even if it did not conform to the Marxist concept of
  socialism. The concept of real-socialism alluded to a future highly
  developed socialist system.

However, in the Deutsch version of the article, it is stated that it [the term] was invented by Erich Honecker -a leader of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany- in 1974, at one of the sessions of the aforementioned party. Unfortunately, I'm not very good with Deutsch, so I haven't understood much more.

Could you please explain

where does the term come from (who invented it and when);
what is its 'official' meaning;
and what does it, from the popular perspective, mean?

Note: I do not know the rules regarding using other's answer outside of this site. I have read this page, but it refers to referencing when writing an answer, not on how to use answers for one's own purpose. For the purpose of making it clear, I am not asking that someone does my task for me, and I would not copy or translate any answer directly, but rather form a new text with all the understanding that I have summed up. If this is against the site's rules, please excuse me and provide me with a link to the corresponding page. Thank you.


texts: Purchased it from an Italian leather shop in Budapest Hungary. Curious to find out the history behind it. I was recently informed it may be of a Hungarian cowboy. His outfit looks a bit formal. It does not have any markings or stamps. The shop keep told me it was for keys but that was about the extent of her English speaking skills.


texts: When did English become a major subject in Japanese schools?

texts:
I used to think older Japanese people wouldn't have studied English at school, and recently came across someone who thought likewise (link available on request).

A middle-aged Japanese person told me that English became a compulsory subject by 1920, but I can't find any information online confirming that. (One site says that English isn't technically a compulsory subject nowadays, merely the teaching of a foreign language, which in most cases happens to be English - though perhaps English wasn't the dominant language in the late 19th century)

When did English become a major subject at Japanese schools? If a definition is needed, then it being studied by a majority of students who completed high school, either of the entire nation, or of a particular prefecture.

Also, did negative relations with some western powers before and during World War 2 lead to the reduction of English being taught, above and beyond the disruption to education caused by war in general? Yoshi Mori joked about English being an enemy's language for part of the time he was at school.

The Wikipedia article English-language education in Japan mainly focuses on the private sector, plus modern-day education in schools.


texts: Why do revolutions "eat their own?" What is the sociological dynamic here?

texts:
We have a number of cases in history of revolutionary movements growing increasingly radicalized by a kind of internal dynamic that eliminates more moderate factions. Instances include the Jacobins, the Bolsheviks and the Nazis,  as discussed in a number of recent books.
Why is this? Are there any notable discussions of this phenomenon in different historical contexts? It would seem to be based on an original friend/foe dynamic that must continually replace foes. It also seems to be more of a rhetorical function (e.g. orators, show trials, and talk radio) than, say, just power struggles to eliminate competitors. An ideological purification.
While I am asking on this history site, I am actually interested in more theoretical, media-driven, or sociological views, as opposed to the particulars of given power struggles. Also, are there clear cases in ancient history or is the idea of "political radicalization" or "ideology" less applicable there? Any good sources welcome!


texts: Can anybody please identify the military uniforms in this these photos?

texts: It's a large tintype.  He was in the 5th Infantry and the 16th Infantry. He joined the Army in 1858 and in 1869 then joined the Navy and was aboard the U.S.S. Lancaster until 1871. (Ignore the 1858 date on the first photo).


texts: In the United States government, has there been cases that electoral colleges don't vote for the candidate the majority of their state voted for?

texts: Has there ever been a case where electoral colleges vote for someone the people didn't vote for during an election for president of the United States?


texts: How widespread was the consumption of rabbit meat by the poor in Medieval and Early-Modern Britain?

texts:
The Romans raised rabbits as livestock in Spain in the 2nd century BC and later brought them to Britain. French monks are believed to have domesticated them in the 5th century AD for their meat and fur. According to the Wikipedia article Medieval Cuisine,

  Rabbits remained a rare and highly prized commodity. In Britain, they
  were deliberately introduced by the 13th century and their colonies
  were carefully protected. Further south, domesticated rabbits were
  commonly raised and bred both for their meat and fur.

By ‘further south’, the article presumably means France and Spain (among others). This History of Rabbits article, on the other hand, says:

  Rabbits were introduced to Britain during the 12th Century, and during
  the Middle Ages, the breeding and farming of rabbits for meat and fur
  became widespread throughout Europe.

Also, The Daily Telegraph, in an article which cites Christopher Lever’s The Naturalized Animals of the British Isles, says rabbits were “established” in the wild by the late 12th century. Given that “experts tend to agree that one pair of rabbits can be responsible for up to 1000 new rabbits within a 12 month period.” and that, these days at least,

  Raising rabbits is simple and economical. Two does and one buck should produce 180 pounds of meat per year.

it would seem that breeding rabbits would be ideal for the poor (though getting hold of wild ones to get started may have been made difficult by Forest Laws). However, I can find little mention of this until (I think - the time reference isn't clear) the Early Modern period:

  Rabbits were typically kept as part of the household livestock by
  peasants and villagers throughout Europe. Husbandry of the rabbits,
  including collecting weeds and grasses for fodder, typically fell to
  the children of the household or farmstead.

Was the consumption of rabbit meat largely restricted to monks and the aristocracy in Medieval and Early Modern Britain?

If so, why didn't the poor - who could not afford much meat in their diet - take advantage of the fact that rabbits are easy to breed, feed and maintain? Are some the sources above misleading, or perhaps the ones on breeding / raising rabbits not applicable to earlier times?


texts: Was there any terrorism in the Soviet Union?

texts:
Did terrorist attacks ever occur within the borders of the USSR?

By this, I do not mean:

terrorist acts committed by the USSR against its own people
terrorists abroad sponsored by the USSR
acts of terror committed within Bolshevik/Soviet territory during the Russian Civil War or World War 2

Edit: for the purpose of this question, a terrorist attack is an attempt to kill people for a political reason, by somebody other than the government.


texts: Were any fortified castles self-sufficient in food?

texts:
I read here and there about sieges of fortified castles which lasted extended lengths of time (two years for instance).

Was there any castle in Medieval Europe that was self-sustaining? By self-sustaining I mean it could produce enough food to feed its defender, i.e. the ability to grow crops and raise cattle within the fortifications in amounts which would allow people inside to survive.

I understand that those sieges could last so long because of amassed reserves of food, I was wondering though, did anybody tried to be to a certain extent independent from anything outside the walls.

Note: I believe that this would also be limited by some everyday items (like wood for instance), which are slow-growing and thus one needs a large reservoir to account for natural replacement.


texts: Are there any medieval records of girls with large clitorises misidentified (and subsequently raised) as boys?

texts:
Several years ago, I read a piece of trivia in a popular science magazine1, which said pretty much exactly:

  In the Middle Ages there were many cases where a newborn girl was born with a clitoris large enough to be mistaken for a penis2, and was subsequently assigned as male and raised as a boy. The mistake would became apparent only after she started menstruating and developing breasts.

Recently, I wanted to fact-check that and learn more, but:

the magazine didn't cite relevant sources for each piece of trivia,
for the life of me I can't construst even a basic Google query which would bring even remotely relevant results.

The magazine was right about several other pieces of trivia3, so I'm reasonably sure that this one wasn't fabricated.

Is anybody familiar with the topic?

1 Fortunately, I still have the magazine. Unfortunately, that magazine is about 550 kilometres away.

2 Which, as I learned in the meantime, is one of the more common intersex conditions.

3 Like Japanese fertility festival featuring an enormous wooden penis sculpture, belief that female orgasms were necessary for pregnancy, or Khoikhoi people having larger labia minora and buttocks.


texts: How were the prophecies of Biblical prophets such as Isaiah first published or disseminated?

texts:
I read the Old Testament but I don't understand how a prophet such as Isaiah would have first put forth his prophesies. Did he speak to a crowd, and someone took down his words? Or did he write little pamphlets which were copied and disseminated in print form? Did he nail his writings to the door of a church, or mail them to a person of authority?

In the first chapter to "Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel", Isaac Newton argues that what appears in the Bible as the book of Isaiah was compiled by Ezra into its final form: "So the Prophecies of Isaiah, written at several times, he has collected into one body. And the like he did for those of Jeremiah, and the rest of the Prophets, down to the days of the second Temple." When reading this, I realize that I don't know the original audience for these prophecies. Perhaps Isaiah knew that his words would be read after his death, but how many people were exposed to them during his life, and through what media?


texts: Why does this London Underground poster from 1924 have a Star of David atop a Christmas tree?

texts:
There is currently an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago displaying posters promoting London Underground transit from the 1920's and 30's.

This interesting piece comes from 1924.  A full descripton can be seen on The Library of Congress website.  As you can see, it is somewhat unusual in that, despite including a Christmas tree and the word "Christmas," it has a Star of David atop the tree.

The blending of Jewish and Christian traditions in early 20th century Britain surprised me.  To my knowledge, placing a star atop a Christmas tree is a common form of decoration, but the specific reference to Judaism seems unusual.

Is there any precedent for this kind of cross-cultural decor?  Was it in fact designed for inclusivity?  Or, alternatively, was placing a Star of David atop a Christmas tree once a common practice in the mainstream Christian tradition, in Britain or elsewhere?


texts: Can anyone identify this military uniform that my great-great-grandfather is wearing


texts: What would a Norseman in the early 11th century have worn as daily clothing?

texts: Most of the Norse clothing we know about seems to come from burials. However, in many cultures, bodies dressed for burial are wearing either "good" clothes, or special clothes for the dead. Is there any evidence to suggest that ordinary, everyday wear for Norsemen (or, indeed, Norse women) was different to that which we see in excavated graves?


texts: Authenticity of the Russian birch bark manuscripts

texts:
More than 1000 birch bark manuscripts have been found in Novgorod and other Russian cities in last 50 years. Many of them stayed in the soil for more than 700 years. In the same time, no special chemicals or methods were used by Slavs to preserve these papers (as Egyptians, Indians and Jews done with their manuscripts). They are just random papers like letters, notes or even shopping lists.

And these texts, when found, look like this (this is a child drawing dated 1240–1260):

How can we establish the authenticity of these manuscripts? How confident can we be that these things are not fake, or there is always some degree of uncertainty?


texts: What US states celebrate an Independence Day?

texts:
Today, March 2nd, is Texas Independence Day; a celebration of how the Texans officially declared independence from Mexico. I found that some other states (i.e. Rhode Island, Hawaii) do (or did) celebrate an Independence Day different from the national Independence Day on July 4th.

What states have their own Independence Day? And who do they celebrate independence from?


texts: Why did Lincoln's Cooper Union Address have such an impact?

texts:
At the Cooper Union, Lincoln became more than a regional curiosity. He became a national leader. -Harold Holzer

This is pretty much the historical consensus. I've read the speech, and I get that Lincoln had a perfectly-tailored message for his audience (i.e. a bunch of skeptical New York elites, many of whom were more antagonistic towards the abolitionist movement than they were to Southern slaveholders). But I'm not clear on the mechanics of how the speech's printing and dissemination to the general public created such a groundswell of Northern support for Lincoln's nomination and eventual presidential victory.

Can the answer be found by looking more closely at the major influencers in the nominating process for the Republican Party in the 1860 campaign? What about by digging through the primary-source evidence demonstrating just how concerned the Northern public was about the spread of slavery in that season? Or was Lincoln's reputation and stature already great enough at the time of the speech that sheer social momentum was enough to carry his campaign through (kind of like how Trump's built-in name recognition has been a big part of his success in our current election cycle)? Any thoughtful leads are appreciated.


texts: What was the main driver of conquest and wars in ancient times? Why were they so frequent?

texts:
The, perhaps naive, impression of someone who had history classes in high school is that the human society in the past put a lot of effort into expanding borders.

Empires and kingdoms rose and fell and seemed to be often, even constantly, involved in an effort to extend their borders.

What was the main driver of this expansionist drive?

Was it specifically to do with scarcity of resources? This would seem a very natural response, except that this behavior is often seen in times and places where (arguably) the costs and difficulties involved in the wars might offset the gains.

I realize that this is generic, and different contexts might have different drivers, feel free to give examples!


texts: Why were balls used on the Medici coat of arms?

texts:
I've heard they represent the weighted balls used to measure goods, alluding to Florence's history as a commercial city and the Medici family's history as merchants and bankers. I've also heard that they were supposed to represent the resilience of the Medici family, because balls bounce up (although I realize that this explanation seems much less likely).

Does anyone know which of these explanations is more valid, or know of any alternate explanations?

Thanks.


texts: Was Apollo's birthday December 25th according to the Romans?

texts:
I recently heard in an online lecture by Dr. Martin Blinder that the Romans had considered Apollo's birthday to be December 25th.
I'm having trouble finding a source that validates this statement


texts: How did Farragut know he could get his fleet through the Confederate line of "torpedos" at Mobile Bay?

texts: At the Battle of Mobile Bay, Adm. David G. Farragut commanded an 18-vessel fleet that included two monitors and his own wooden-hulled flagship, USS Hartford.  The entrance to Mobile Bay was guarded by Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan, and between the bay was blocked by pilings and underwater mines -- then called "torpedos."  One of the mines had sunk the monitor USS Tecumseh, and the captain of the wooden-hulled USS Brooklyn, which was in the lead of Farragut's fleet, slowed for orders before approaching the minefield.  Farragut then allegedly made the famous order that the Hartford's captain "damn the torpedos," and to go ahead through them at full speed.  Hartford and most of the other ships passed Brooklyn and went through the mine field without (I believe) any serious mishaps from the mines. What reason did Farragut, if he had any, have to believe that the minefield would not sink his ships?  Or did Farragut believe that operating at full speed would help keep the Hartford from blocking the channel to the other ships, even if the mines detonated and sank the flag ship?


texts: Historical examples of secessionist movements fighting alongside their de jure governments

texts:
In the complicated many-sided conflict in Mali, the MNLA, are fighting for a secular state in Azawad, whereas islamists (such as Ansar Dine), seek the imposition of Sharia law across Mali. Recently, France has intervened to prevent islamists from achieving their goals; see also this question.

As the Wikipedia article on the conflict summarises, Ansar Dine and MNLA initially cooperated, but have subsequently waged war because of disagreements about the nature their state should have, and MNLA are now "ready to help" their former opponents in the fight against the Islamists:

  We can do the job on the ground. We’ve got men, arms and, above all, the desire to rid Azawad of terrorism.

Source: Al Arabiya

Until recently, MNLA were fighting against the government of Mali, and now they are fighting with the government of Mali. This seems unusual, and I wonder what the consequences for their relation post-conflict may be. Are there any historical examples of armed secessionist groups joining arms with their de jure government to drive out a common enemy?


texts: Looking for the source of a quote on Nazi ideology

texts:
I am researching a project on totalitarianism and am trying to find the source of a quote that I read once, but now, cannot find.

The quotation, in essence, was:  "Nazi ideology can never be disproved because it is not based on facts."  (It was, presumably, based on emotion, fantasy, or ideology.)

I believe it was attributed to Hitler but may have been one of the other Nazi leadership.

Does anyone have an attribution for this statement?


texts: Has there ever been a direct clash between NATO and Russia?

texts:
Looking at the news today on the downing of a Russian fighter jet by Turkey and I am wondering...

Prior to this, has there ever been a direct clash between NATO and Russia? Proxy wars don't count, I am talking only between fighting units operating openly under NATO or Russian flags.


texts: When did sharing beds with strangers in inns/hotels start to decline?

texts: Hard to believe this ever happened -- and maybe it didn't but I have read about it in Moby Dick, for example --but I am wondering how long this lasted? The closest I have ever come to this was a semi-private (that is, shared with one other room) bathroom in England and I frankly did not like this. Sharing a bed with a stranger would be crazy but maybe it still happens in parts of the world, so I am asking about the USA.


texts: Was drinking coffee with milk illegal under the Ottoman Empire?

texts: Did the Ottoman Empire ever ban the consumption of coffee with milk? I know Sultan Murad IV banned drinking coffee by itself, but was there any laws on drinking coffee with milk? If so, what was the punishment for it?


texts: Is there any evidence of Buddhism emergine between the traditional and modern dates for Gautama's life?

texts:
The traditional dates for Gautama Buddha's life are 563-483 BCE or 480-400 BCE, although according to Wikipedia:

  Most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE. More recently his death is dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. These alternative chronologies, however, have not yet been accepted by all historians.

That leaves quite a large gap: about 150 years between the traditional and modern dates.

Is there no evidence of Buddhism being practiced in that period? Or is it the case that there was some such practice, but that it predates Gautama and was credited to him post hoc?


texts: Did the Portuguese build any settlement around the Cape of Good Hope?

texts:
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to go around the Cape of Good Hope and build several outposts, later turned into large colonies, at Angola and Moçambique, on both sides of the Cape, but none on the Cape itself, as far as I know. I cannot see the sense in that, for I guess that control of the Cape was essential to keep their own routes open for traffic with India – in fact, that was one of the reasons why the British conquered the Dutch Cape Colony. I guess that a powerful enemy navy at the Cape could seriously hinder Portuguese movements, something that I don't know if actually happened at the time of the Portuguese-Dutch wars.
So the question is: Did the Portuguese build any settlement around the Cape? And if not, why?


texts: During the Chinese warring states, weapons knowns as dagger axes were used and there is a wide body of evidence that those were common at one time -- so so I believe.  Is there any record of fighting manual or techniques using those weapons?  Has any one in modern times tried to reverse engineer how units of combatants might have used them?


texts: Red color is traditionally associated with communism. You can find it at Soviet Union flag, China flag and red star is normally symbol of communist countries . Why is red color associated with communism? What does it symbolizes?


texts: What is the story of war that started with "if"?

texts: I was told about a story, of how one army sent terms to another army threatening 'if' they did not obey them, they would be punished. The receiving army replied to the threat with one word "if". I would really like to know if this story is a real historical event and if so what time period/era.


texts:
Background
Historians have grouped epochs of human technological advancement into various "Technology Ages" (characterized by the predominant types of tools and weapons used by humans) including the following (some of these are debatable but most are universally accepted and cited, I'm just listing these here for reference to frame my Question):

The Stone Age (~3.4M BCE to ~3300 BCE)
The Neolithic / Agricultural Age (~12,500 BCE to ~3300 BCE)
The Bronze Age (~3300 BCE to ~1200 BCE)
The Iron Age (~1200 BCE to ~200 BCE)
The Greek / Roman Age (~200 BCE to ~400 CE)
The "Dark" Age (Early Middle Ages ~500 CE - ~1000 CE)
The Middle Ages (~500 CE to ~1500 CE)
The Renaissance Age aka Age of Discovery (~1500 to ~1800)
The Industrial Age (~1800 to July 16, 1945)
The Atomic Age (1945 to 1958?)
The Jet Age (Late 1940s or 1958? to ???)
The Space Age (1957 to 1970s?)
The Information Age aka Computer Age, Digital Age, Internet Age (1970s? to ????)

Question
Are we still in the Information Age? Or with robotics, data analytics, machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, artificial intelligence, drones and autonomous vehicles, are we turning the corner into a new Automation Age as this Harvard Business Review Article and this Futurism Article suggest?

If not a new Automation Age, are we perhaps in some other Age now?  Obviously Ages can overlap as has been the case with some of the above listed "Ages" - so we could very well still be in the Information Age, or a second Space Age with commercialization of Space starting to take off (pun intended) as well as a new Automation Age all at the same time.

I'm looking for some "official" "Age-Keeper" decree or announcement (who gets to identify and name all the "Ages" by the way?) but I haven't found anything I would consider authoritative yet on the subject of what Age we may now be in.  By authoritative I mean some article in a recognized peer-reviewed journal, or a doctoral thesis.  Is this something we may only learn in hindsight?

Further Research
Additional research on this topic has uncovered the following articles all referencing the current Age of Automation:

The Key to Surviving in the Age of Automation - Forbes, Feb 2, 2017
Entering the Automation Age: How Software Can Help Young Tech Companies Scale - Forbes, May 14, 2018
Human Capabilities Will Trump Robots in the Age of Automation - Silicon Republic, April 9, 2018
Study: The U.S. isn't doing enough to prepare students for the Automation Age - The Hechinger Report, April 25, 2018
The Age of Automation: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and the Future of Low-Skilled Work - The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), Sept 17, 2017

While none of these may be scientific journals (though the last one may at least have the notoriety of being a semi or pseudo official organization?) they all separately refer to the current Age of Automation, in addition to the previously cited HBR and Futurism articles.  While lacking accreditation, does this growing body of work start to form some sort of industry consensus regarding a current Age of Automation?

Previous Unrelated Question on Modern / Late Modern / Post Modern terminology refers to cultural periods, not technological ages (nor to geological ages for that matter).  The answer to the Modern / Late Modern / Post-Modern question in no way answers this question.


texts: Why the M24 Chaffee was not used as a tank at Dien Bien Phu?

texts:
According to the Wikipedia page of the M-24 Chaffee, ten of these tanks were sent to the french forces in Dien Bien Phu, where they provide "fire support".

Considering the French were outgunned by the artillery the Viet Minh was able to provide through jungle, why the M-24 were not used along the French elite infantry (like airborne forces or Foreign legion) to mount raids against the artillery positions?

The French aviation might even had supported these attacks with previous bombings.


texts: Was the insanity of kings used as an argument against monarchy?

texts: History has seen its share of mentally impaired monarchs. Some examples from the last centuries include King George III of the United Kingdom, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria, and Emperor Taishō of Japan. It seems natural (to me, at least) that that insanity is used as an argument against Monarchy, as opposed to a Republican form of government. My question is: was this argument against Monarchy used throughout history? If it was, then when and where it was used?


texts: Was the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson a "media circus"?

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I recently watched a History Channel special on presidents during the Reconstruction era, where various historians describe the Andrew Johnson impeachment trial as a "media circus" comparable to the Super Bowl and the Clinton impeachment. The excited historians describe ticket scalpers outside the capitol and dressed-up women proceeding to this social event in their finest clothes.

I haven't been able to find any mention of this media circus in any old textbooks or while researching on the web. Was the Johnson impeachment actually the Super Bowl of 1868, or are the History Channel historians getting carried away?


texts: Did Pope Urban II issue the papal bull "terra nullius" in 1095?

texts:
Countless sources claim that the origin of the term terra nullius is from a papal bull issued by Pope Urban II in 1095 called "Terra nullius". Here are a two:

Pramod K. Nayar, The Postcolonial Studies Dictionary, 2015

  Terra nullius comes from the Papal Bull Terra Nullius issued by Pope Urban II, at the beginning of the Crusades.

Reed Underwood, TERRA NULLIUS: THE SPECTRAL COLONIALISM OF NO MAN’S SKY, 2016

  In 1095 Pope Urban II issued a bull, inaugurating the doctrine of Terra nullius, which declared that lands occupied by nonChristians could be legally interpreted as unoccupied and then claimed by Christians. The doctrine became the legal underpinning for the conquest of Muslim territories during the First Crusade.

The same claim is made in lots of Google Books pages, but they are so hard to copy paste from.

My question is if this claim is correct? If it is, can someone please link to and cite relevant sections from this papal bull? I haven't been able to find it myself.


texts:
This video (8:16) shows a tourist displaying a ladder going into an underground shaft at the base of Sphinx.

Just wondering what is inside it and its purpose.


texts:
Can anyone help to identify the uniforms in this photograph?
All I know is that Kroonstad was then part of the Orange River Colony - formed around 1900
Thanks


texts: Is there a link between the Sea people and the Trojan War?

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Are there any known links between the Trojan war and the sea people invasions of the late bronze age, or any theory linking the two? I know that the approximate dates for both roughly coincide, and that some of the people seem to be the same (like the Achaeans/Ekwesh). Both also involve attacking Hittite settlements (Ilion/Wilusa).

Do we know if the two are somewhat related or not, or is there just not enough archeological evidence to decide?


texts: Were there prehistoric interaction between Caucasian and Asian people?

texts: Are there any documented instances of prehistoric interaction between Caucasian and Asian people?  Do archeological sites such as Xiaohe Tomb complex imply there were?


texts: Do maps dating back to 1489/90 show Ascension and St Helena even though these islands were supposedly only discovered in 1501 and 1502 respectively?

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The 1504 Vesconte Maggiolo Map appears to be the first map to name and accurately locate the islands of St Helena and Ascension as single isloated islands.

Ascension was shown in a similar location and named as such in the 1502 Cantino map, albeit as an archipelago. Cantino does not show St Helena.
Since the Portuguese chronicles state that Ascension was discovered by Joao da Nova in 1501 on his outward voyage to India and St Helena in 1502 on his return to Lisbon, I am curious about some earlier maps.
For example, there is the 1500 Juan la Cosa map. I have highlighted two archipelagos. These are extremely reminiscent of Ascension and St Helena but this map predates the year these islands were discovered. There are two discrepancies. First they are shown as island clusters. Second they seem to be several hundred km too far to the east.

Going further back in time, there is the “Columbus” Portolan sea chart which has been dated to the early 1490s. Once again, there seems to be an "Ascension Island" archipelago, albeit the St Helena island cluster is no longer shown.

There is a still earlier map, the 1489-90 Henricus Martellus map, that shows what appears to be an enormous archipelago that I have highlighted in the white square. If not Ascension, what is this meant to represent? Incidentally, maybe the legend next to the Ascension island cluster provides a clue but I cannot establish what it says.

It is clear to me that neither the "Ascension" nor the "St Helena" archipelagos are meant to represent the major Gulf of Guinea islands - São Tomé, Principe and Annobón – which are separately shown and reasonably accurately located on these early maps.
So, if not St Helena and Ascension, what are these island clusters meant to represent?


texts: Why were Union troops referred to as "lop-eared Dutch"?

texts:
I am reading "A History of Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas by William Monks" (published 1907). I am also recording it and posting my recordings to YouTube.
In it, the Confederates refer to "Union men" as "lopeared Dutch." I understand that by "Dutch" they mean German-Americans, but "lopeared"? What is the origin of that? Why were they considered "lop-eared"?


texts: In the election of 1800, why did Burr end up with as many electoral votes as Jefferson, rather than one fewer?

texts:
In the election of 1800, the Federalist candidate for president, John Adams, received one more electoral vote than the candidate for vice president, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. This was by design, as the Federalists had arranged for one of their electors to cast his second vote for John Jay instead of Pinckney, to ensure that their candidate for vice president would not tie their candidate for president.

However, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr each received the same number of electoral votes, which due to Burr's lack of integrity caused a constitutional crisis that had the potential to lead to civil war. Why did the Democratic-Republicans fail to enact a similar scheme in order to ensure that Burr would receive one vote fewer than Jefferson?

I want make sure it's clear that my question is not about why the candidates for president and vice president were on the same ballot, nor is it about how this problem was resolved.

I understand in full how the Constitution designed an electoral system without regard to political parties, awarding the vice presidency to the runner-up in the presidential election, how the emergence of political parties virtually guaranteed that the vice president would be the president's most prominent political opponent, and how the parties attempted to work around this issue by each promoting two candidates for president, with the understanding that one was running for president and the other was running for vice president. I also know in detail about the drama that ensued, how is was resolved with James Bayard's abstention, and how the problem was fixed by the Twelfth Amendment. None of that is what I'm asking about.

I'm asking specifically about why the Democratic-Republicans didn't ensure that Jefferson would end up with one more vote than Burr, as the Federalists ensured that Adams had one more vote than Pinckney.

Most sources I've seen simply state that Jefferson and Burr each received 73 electoral votes, without further explanation. Some sources assert, in very generic terms, that the Democratic-Republicans had a similar plan but that it somehow didn't work out. For example, the Wikipedia article states

  The Federalists therefore arranged for one of their electors to vote for John Jay rather than for Pinckney. The Democratic-Republicans had a similar plan to have one of their electors cast a vote for another candidate instead of Burr, but failed to execute it

However, I haven't been able to find any source that explains what the plan was, and why it wasn't executed. I haven't even been able to find a source that affirms that such a plan actually existed (other than a vague assertion with no references or details, as in the Wikipedia article), or explains why not, if no such arrangement was made.


texts:
Some suggested that Martin Luther hated the Jews because the Jews didn't believe him. Yet, some Christians think that Martin Luther is a libertarian and state that he didn't think beliefs should be coerced. Libertarians don't hate people for their beliefs.

What was his real reason?


texts:
There seems to be a notion that cannabis was illegalized due to capitalism. I've read some theories as to how this happened, and one of them goes something like this:

Commissioner of the National Bureau of Narcotics Harry Anslinger, journalist and media personality William Randolph Hearst and the Dupont trading company, among other industrial parties of interest, were involved in a conspiracy to illegalize cannabis (and therefore hemp). When the decorticator was invented, the industrial parties were afraid their products would be out-competed by hemp fibers.

Marijuana Business News.com mentions this theory, though it doesn't support it. I believe there may be many variations of the theories, and they can probably be generalized as such:

Conspiracy between government (Anslinger), the media (Hearst) and industrial companies seek to illegalize cannabis through demonization and legislation.

One proponent of a theory like this is Hemp Today. Clovis News Journal presents the same theory. This blog points to "industrial theories" in general, but doesn't support them.
The way I see it, any such theory is dependent on the decorticator to make sense. I've read some presentations of the theory where it was the United States' discovery of hemp itself that caused the industrial parties to be afraid. This however, makes no sense, since hemp was known about for a good while before cannabis (and by proxy, hemp) was made practically illegal in 1937 through the Marihuana Tax Act (see Johnson's commission, page 214 and 231). In fact, it was actually illegal to not grow hemp in Virginia due to the plant's usefulness. So, I can't see how it was the United States' discovery of hemp that prompted the capitalistic fear and subsequent illegalization.
However, the theory or theories that involve the decorticator still have some issues.

There's no smoking gun definitively linking the members of the proposed conspiracy.
The Dupont fortune was built largely on explosives, not textiles.
Nylon would likely not be out-competed by hemp fiber because what woman would wear hemp stockings?
Cannabis was made illegal in 30 states before Anslinger became head of the Bureau.
Hemp was a declining crop in the 1930s, making it less scary to industrialists.
Hearst had adequate reasons to post sensationalistic articles that demonized cannabis for the sake of selling newspapers.

These counter-arguments have been taken from this article.
Insider claims that the main reason why cannabis was illegalized in the U.S. was due to Mexican xenophobia and racism. The top comment of this reddit post on r/AskHistorians says that race mattered. This reddit comment also links to an article written by PhD candidate Bob Beach, that doesn't place too much weight on the racial element, but it does say this when describing Anslinger's speeches during the period:

An emphasis is placed on African-American and Mexican users as well as the threat of the drug to young white children.

The idea that cannabis was illegalized due to racism is surely something the pro-cannabis side could have used instead of the conspiracy theories, which confuses me. Instead however, many choose to present or point to these conspiracy theories, which makes me think that perhaps there's something I've missed.
Also, if cannabis was made illegal due to racist reasons, or health concerns (or both), it's still a bit weird that hemp* was illegalized, it has THC concentrations. This could of course be the product of laziness and/or ignorance, and not necessarily be the product of a capitalistic conspiracy.
So, what does the consensus among historians say? Why was cannabis illegalized in the U.S.?
EDIT:
Someone asked if I could specify what I mean with hemp. Hemp is a strain of Cannabis sativa that has a very low THC content. Here's a Britannica article going more into it.


texts: What is a "barso"? (ref. Richard Cocks' diaries)

texts:
Question
In his diaries documenting his time in Japan, Richard Cocks mentions barsos frequently, apparently meaning some kind of liquid containing vessel (mostly in reference to [gifts of] alcohol, but occasionally vinagre and other liquids). This word unusually is not included in the footnotes explaining almost every foreign term that he uses (mostly Japanese, with a few Portuguese and Spanish).
Does anyone know the etymology of this word?
Example usage:

October 28.—Goresanos wife brought her doughter of 20 daies ould to the English howse, with a present of a barsoe of wyne, figges, and oringes, desiring a name to be given her, which was per consent Elizabeth.

Note: In his diaries, wine is described as also coming in bottel, barica/barrico, barell/barrill/barille, butt and jarr. Specifically Spanish wine is never described as coming in barsos (it is most commonly described as coming in bottells, and occasionally in barica/barricos, barrels or butts). This might suggest that barsos weren't European made vessels, and were a kind encountered in Japan?

Data from diaries:


texts: What is the source for this Goering quote on radar?

texts:
On page 194 of Jonathan Trigg's The Defeat of the Luftwaffe, he claims Hermann Goering said:

  I have frequently taken a look inside such sets. It does not look all that imposing, just some wires and a few other bits and pieces. The whole apparatus is remarkably primitive.

Unfortunately, the alleged quote is not referenced. Does anybody know where it comes from?


texts: How much oil was spilled by the naval combatants during WW2?

texts: The war at sea took a huge toll during WW2. Has there been an official estimate of how much oil was spilled into the oceans during the world wide conflict?


texts: What are the origins of Satanism as a religion?

texts:
I've been wondering about the origins of Satanism as an organised religion. I've heard that it was originally created by the Catholic Church as a means to polarize the general population (us-against-them mentality), and it has only recently started "coming into the open".

I was just wondering if there is any credence to the assertion.


texts: Did any of the Flying Tigers lead a US Navy squadron?

texts:
I came across a couple of passages on the Flying Tigers, mercenary armies and famous volunteers
I saw how one pilot became an ace in Europe and another became a General in the 10th Air Force after they were disbanded. It seemed to me that as they are were very successful against Japanese pilots, by all accounts, the best use should have been with the US Navy as instructors or maybe front-line pilots. I haven't run across anything showing they ever served in the Navy. I think of the Thach Weave that made a huge difference against Zero pilots and wondered what tricks the Tigers must have used that would have also been helpful against the Japanese. Did the Navy ever incorporate any of the Tiger pilots? If so, did they ever distinguish themselves in the Pacific like they did in China?
It's my first question here so hopefully you will be gentle.


texts:
According to this guy

  The Jewish rebellion in A.D. 66 that ignited the war with Rome was by no means inevitable. Judaism was a legal religion in the Roman Empire, and Nero's own empress, Poppaea, was very interested in it. Contrary to biblical novels and movies, far worse things could happen to you in the ancient world than to be conquered by Rome. The Romans hung out the traffic lights in their sprawling empire, curbing piracy at sea and brigandage by land, thus providing security in the Mediterranean world. The apostle Paul's missionary journeys would have been impossible without the Pax Romana, the "Roman peace" that ordered society. As for the "horrors" of Roman taxation, I would much rather have paid the tribute to Rome as a citizen of Jerusalem than American income tax!

He'd rather pay Roman tax than pay American income tax. I wonder how much Romans actually had to pay.


texts: Was the 1852 Richard/Bolcoff divorce the first one in California?

texts: Annick Foucrier's "Sailors, Carpenters, Vineyardists" describes a divorce taking place in Santa Cruz shortly after California became part of the United States, dissolving the marriage of Maria Lucia del Carmen Bolcoff and Pierre Richard. Paperwork was filed in 1847 and the divorce was granted in 1852. Did any other civil divorce in the U.S. state of California predate it? (I presume, but am not sure, that the Catholic authorities of Spanish and Mexican period Alta California did not grant divorces.)


texts: What were Helfrich's orders for Doorman in 1942 prior to the Battle of the Java Sea, and did he comment on these in later life?

texts:
I've been trying to understand what went in prior to the Japanese invasion of Java. From my understanding thus far, Vice-Admiraal (Vice Admiral) Conrad Helfrich took command of the ABDA naval forces after 12th February 1942, and gave orders to go on the offensive. This was particularly relevant because the Japanese were close to invading Bali and Java. Schout-bij-nacht (Rear Admiral) Karel Doorman led the ABDA 'Striking Force' first in the Battle of Badung Strait, which was a relative success (one sunk and two damaged ABDA vessels) when compared to the Battle of the Java Sea (ABDA naval forces wiped out with the exception of HMAS Perth and USS Houston that survived for another day until sunk at the Sunda Strait).
This offensive naval strike seems to have been entirely drawn up by Helfrich by these articles, and would have directly contributed to the near-immediate defeat of the KNIL forces on Java. What were the specific orders Helfrich had given to Doorman? Did Helfrich later comment on this in any way (writings, memoirs, etc...)?
Perhaps a touch superfluous, but it would also be very interesting to see if Doorman left any writings before embarking on the mission which might clarify his opinion of what went on?

Doorman's Wikipedia article says:

Based on instructions issued by High Command, Doorman gave the order to attack at the approach of the Japanese fleet. The tactical command was "I am attacking, follow me"; he did not signal at the beginning of the battle in the Java Sea. It is a loose translation of the signal sent by him, "All ships – follow me" to remedy the confusion.

The "instructions issued by High Command" are not specified or sourced (and, indeed, the entire Wikipedia section with regards to this is quoted as "needing sources for verification". Meanwhile, Helfrich's Wikipedia article notes:

When a combined command (ABDA) was finally created in January 1942, he was bypassed for the post of commander of the navy, in favour of Admiral Thomas C. Hart of the United States Navy. Helfrich's mission to defend Java at all costs clashed with Hart's desire to conserve as many naval units as possible. On 12 February 1942, Helfrich succeeded Hart as commander of the American–British–Dutch–Australian naval forces in the Pacific and immediately went on the offensive.

Meanwhile, the ABDA Wikipedia article says:

ABDA was charged with holding the Malay Barrier for as long as possible in order to retain Allied control of the Indian Ocean and the western sea approaches to Australia. This was a nearly hopeless task, given the Japanese supremacy in naval forces in the western Pacific. The task was further complicated by the addition of Burma to the command; the difficulties of coordinating action between forces of four nationalities that used different equipment and had not trained together; and the different priorities of the national governments. British leaders were primarily interested in retaining control of Singapore; the military capacity of the Dutch East Indies had suffered as a result of the defeat of the Netherlands in 1940, and the Dutch administration was focused on defending the island of Java; the Australian government was heavily committed to the war in North Africa and Europe, and had few readily accessible military resources, and; the United States was preoccupied with the Philippines...

This leaves it possible that the move by Helfrich was with respect to a Dutch goal and that Helfrich rushed it through before Australian/British/American opposition could materialize.


texts: Did Germans refuse to take Cossacks prisoners in WWI? If so, why?

texts:
The Russian Wikipedia's page about Kozma Kryuchkov, the first awardee of Russia's Cross of Saint George in the First World War, says:

После этого случая, освещённого почти во всей тогдашней российской прессе, немцы и австрийцы перестали брать в плен казаков, а убивали их на месте. Казаков узнавали по лампасам на шароварах, поэтому они стали носить обычную пехотную форму.

My translation:

After this incident, which was covered by all Russian media of the time, Germans and Austrians stopped taking Cossacks prisoners of war, killing them on the spot instead. Cossacks were recognized by lampasses on trousers, so they started wearing the ordinary infantry uniform.

For those who don't know, lampasses are stripes on trousers.
The incident is what Kryuchkov received his award for, and is described in detail on that Wikipedia page, but here's a concise English summary found by me on the Internet:

A squad of six Cossacks, including Kryuchkov, was sent scouting from Kolvari near the Prussian border. They stumbled upon a detachment of Prussian cavalrymen consisting of 27 men. Two Cossacks immediately set off with a message to their superiors. The remaining four engaged in a fight with the enemy, made them retreat, and chased them for 12 miles. Kryuchkov faced 11 Germans alone, and a fierce battle broke out. The Germans stabbed him with their lances, and he fought first with his rifle. When his rifle was knocked from his hands, he began to chop the enemy with his saber. He then snatched and used a German lance. This Cossack hero received 16 wounds, but came out the winner of the fight, having killed 11 Germans by himself. For his outstanding bravery Kryuchkov was the first person to be awarded the Saint George's Cross during this war.

My question: Did Germans really start refusing taking Cossacks prisoners? If so, was it really because of their bravery and fighting skills shown in the incident?
A hypothesis came to my mind that there might have been something not mentioned in the Russian version of the incident - for example, Kozma and his fellow soldiers might have pretended to be surrendering and then attacked their captors, taking them by surprise. That would explain the German reaction to the incident. Curious to learn more about the incident and its aftermath, I spent some time searching in Google in various languages, especially trying to find a German source, but couldn't find any and hope that history fans on this SE can shed some light.


texts: Who had the shortest time in going from imprisonment to head of state within democratic processes?

texts:
We know that for example Mandela, Hitler, Stalin all spent some time in prison before they went on to become the head of their respective state or government.
Regardless of the reason why they were imprisoned, or the methods and means of how they became 'head of state' – and surely without comparing them in any other way – which head of state spent the shortest amount of time between incarceration and running the state?
For Mandela it was from February 1990 when he was released from Victor Verster Prison to April 1994 when his party won the general election. This clearly beats Hitler who was released from Landsberg Prison on 20 December 1924 and was given the chancellorship on 30 January 1933. Let's ignore the technicality that in 1933 Hindenburg remained president and only after his death head of government and head of state were merged. But is Mandela really the one with the shortest timespan?
Trying to find out whether anyone was even faster than Mandela in his rise to power leads me mostly into the opposite direction:
List of heads of government who were later imprisoned
which is a rather long list. Other searches give me lists cut short to for example five candidates by selecting them for being 'famous':
Five famous world leaders who have served time in prison (The list being comprised of Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vaclav Havel, Michelle Bachelet)
Which head of state or head of government was the fastest in being released from prison and getting power under democratic conditions?
Subquestion for the needed detail: what was he accused of and how were the laws handled that pertained to his past as convict and assuming office?


texts: What weapons were manufactured in India by the British forces which were used during world wars?

texts:
Recently I came across references to a weapon called the Bangalore Torpedo, which was used in the world wars. These weapons were made in India by the British Indian Army.
I also happened to see references to these weapons in the movie Saving Private Ryan.

My question is:

  Were there any more weapons used in the
  world wars, that were made in India, and were British colonies like
  India used for the manufacture of weapons for British Army ?


texts: What are modern theoretical approaches towards history?

texts:
There were/are different ways to describe history and what the most important forces are behind history.

some say "history is the result of great men", some "history can be only understood under the light of geopolitic interests", some underline the importance of the living circumstances of the common people and their needs, and so on.

What are those approaches, how can one systemize them and what is the modern oppinion on this matter?


texts: Did the Virginia pound use the pound sign (£)?

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During most of the colonial era, Virginia used its own currency, the Virginia pound.  Today, the pound sign (£) is used to designate the British pound as well as other "pound" currencies.

Was the pound sign (£) in use during the colonial era to refer to the Virginia pound?


texts: Are there any examples of ancient cultures that did not practice capital punishment? (Prior to the fall of the Roman Empire ~500 AD)


texts: How can I identify this silver kitchen fork?

texts: Can somebody help me identify this kitchen silver fork. Searching in internet, but not found anything...


texts: Did Alexander impose his Greek polytheism on the Persians he conquered or did the Hellenization happen naturally over the course of time and Greek soldiers and traders living among them? Or was it something else?


texts: Can anyone identify these swords with carved ivory grip and narrow guard

texts:
(click for full size)

My dad found these two swords while working on a millionaire's home. The past home owner had been a sword collector and my father found it under the floors. I have no information on them and haven't found anything like them online. What kind of swords are they and where do they come from?


texts:
This picture features twice a flag with a dark border and a light inner: which flag is that?

From left to right we can see:

an Italian flag
a British flag
a striped flag, possibly USA
a tricolor flag, possibly French or Irish, doesn't matter
the mystery flag
a USA flag
another USA flag
a third USA flag
again the mystery flag

The event has been described as "Douglas Fairbanks holding up Charlie Chaplin in front of crowd to promote Liberty Bonds, Lower Manhattan, NYC, 1918"

It looks similar to this one, but it doesn't include the central blue stripes:

I guess it might be something special related to the warbonds, then, does anyone have any info about those special flags?