texts: Was it against protocol for the Emperor to pray inside the Forbidden City?

texts:
Background
An oft reproduced narrative about the Empress Dowager Cixi asserts that she held the Guangxu Emperor captive within the Forbidden City. Lately, I heard a version that disputes all of this and contends that he was free to go wherever he pleased. I think it is based on the newish book 說慈禧, but have not located the quotes yet.
To the point
Der Ling’s book »Two Years in the Forbidden City«, Chapter 9 relates that:

She also gave orders that everyone should bathe the body and wash out the mouth in order that we might be cleansed from all impurities and be ready to fast and pray to the Gods. Also that the Emperor should go to the temple inside the Forbidden City, to perform a ceremony of sacrifice (called Chin Tan). He was not to eat meat or hold converse with anyone, and to pray to the Gods to be merciful and send rain to the poor farmers.

And further on:

His Majesty, the Emperor Kwang Hsu, was to pray at the Forbidden City and Her Majesty always wanted to accompany him wherever he went.

If the Emperor’s praying in the Forbidden City -as opposed to the Temple of Heaven outside it -is an irregularity, this might support the narrative that Cixi had restricted his movements. Hence my question:
Was it abnormal for His Majesty to pray inside the Forbidden City as opposed to the Temple of Heaven? An answer based on official protocol rules would be the most desirable.


texts: Could you help me find a layout of Osaka Castle after it was rebuilt by Tokugawa Hidetada? I've looked all over the web and couldn't find a thing.


texts:
History says that the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. However, I've also read many stories claiming that it was a Lord Shiva temple earlier.

What's the truth?


texts: Why did Puerto Rican families send their children to New York?

texts:
I'm currently reading Run Baby Run, an autobiography by Nicky Cruz. Mr Cruz is a former New York City gang leader who became a Christian minister.

In the first chapter, in which he describes how he got from Puerto Rico to New York, he writes:

  It is the practice of many Puerto Rican families to send their children to New York when they are old enough to take care of themselves. Six of my older brothers already had left the island and moved to New York. All were married and trying to make a new life for themselves.

Nicky was 15 in 1955 when he was sent to New York to live with one of his brothers.

My question is: Why were Puerto Rican families sending their children off the island, and why New York?


texts: In World War II, why was the ratio of killed to wounded of the Royal Navy twice that of the US Navy?

texts:
Casualty numbers for Navy personnel killed and wounded in WWII cited by Wikipedia (for the Royal Navy) and the National World War II Museum in New Orleans (for the US Navy) show a big difference in the ratio of killed to wounded.

  Royal Navy----killed 50,758----wounded 14,663----ratio killed to
  wounded 3.46

  US Navy-------killed 62,614----wounded 37,778----ratio killed to
  wounded 1.66

The numbers cited may, of course, not be wholly accurate but for the above ratio numbers to be similar would mean a huge error somewhere; this seems unlikely as neither source indicates the figures are 'guesstimates' (someone could have been sloppy but the numbers have not been rounded up/down, and the US stats match those cited on this World War II casualties page).

Among the possible explanations for this I've thought of are:

The efficiency and availability of search & rescue. Were British vessels more likely to be sunk when no other ships were around to pick up survivors?
The age (and thus construction quality?) of vessels. Were Royal Navy ships, on average, older than US ships and thus more likely to sink quickly?
The way in which vessels were sunk (i.e. torpedo, aerial attack, naval gunfire, mines).

What factor or factors account for the Royal Navy killed to wounded ratio being more than twice that of the US Navy?


texts: When did the incident happen when bounty on rats led people to farm rats?

texts:
Sorry for the title but don't know how to phrase it exactly.

I once read an article about a period (in France I think but I'm not sure) when the cities were growing and people strted to have issues with rats (I think) that were spreading deseases.

So the authorities decided to pay citizens a sum of money for any dead rat they presented. Thes worked for a period until people figured out they could make lots of money out of this. And so they started raising rats only to kill them later and make the money.

I can't find anything online (don't know what keywords to use) but maybe someone has an ideea on when this happend and where.


texts: How many people in the US starved to death during the Great Depression?

texts:
I was trying to look this up earlier and could not easily find reliable information on the internet, mostly due to a new popular claim that 7 million people starved to death in the Great Depression! Otherwise, for the most part, what I could find were claims that no one starved to death, which are mostly predicated on the idea that all the deaths that seem like starvation are really severe malnutrition.
According to the UN, malnutrition is still the leading cause of death in the world today.
In the US, tens of thousands were dying during the years of the Depression from pellegra, which was cured in 1938 through niacin supplementation. This is known because there were Pellegra hospitals and it was believed to be an infectious disease so there are good records.

New York, which was 10% of the US population, was experiencing death by starvation and would keep track much better than most places, such as Appalachia or Oklahoma, where I would think it would be much, much worse before the New Deal programs started. There is evidence that many government agencies conducted studies on malnutrition levels, but at the time they did not have an established definition or complete understanding of the symptoms of malnutrition would be or even what foods a person must eat to not die. Source: this and this

So, I would be very interested to know how many people died of malnutrition or lack of calories, if any estimate is possible.

Since it is already demonstrable false to me, it isn't necessary to disprove the claims in the Pravda article.


texts: Do revisionist historiographies come closer to "unbiased truth"?

texts:
Historiography, the practice of historians, regularly revises historiographical accounts of history.  The revision of history, or "historical revisionism," often involves raising new concepts or methods.  It is very very different to the offensive and deliberately false practice of denial of genocides, which has occasionally been called "revisionism" because it sought to revise history.  So "historical revisionism" is the practice of historians revising history.

One major and well known "wave" of revisions was the development of "social history" in the West in the 1950s-1970s.  Another is the "narrative turn" in predominantly US cultural history in the 1975-1995 period.  Yet another wave of historical revision is the turn to "transnational history" in the last 20 years.

Does revisionist history come closer to the unbiased truth?  Are revisionist historiographies always more historiographically advanced and more developed in exposing "the past as it was" in terms of historiography?

Many older people learned public history from school systems, the content of these public histories varies considerably from contemporary academic accounts.  When a member of the public encounters revised academic histories, or revised public histories, how can they evaluate the "truth" content and the "bias" of the revised history?  How can they evaluate the "truth" and "bias" of the public history they learnt in school?


texts:
What is the longest sustained retreat by a military force in history, by total length? Not counting naval examples, as they can be much longer.

When I search for it I get a lot of results to the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River, which is the longest retreat in US history, but at 120 mi (190 km) it is dwarfed by a more famous retreat, of the French from Moscow.

Still, that may not be the longest in all history. Which one is the longest?


texts: Info about frigates crossing the Atlantic in 1650

texts: I'm writing a book and need help with trading frigates crossing the Atlantic in 1650 to the West Indies and American colonies. How many men would be on a ship and were there stairs or ladders leading to the decks below?


texts: What were the incentives for joining the Roman army before the Marian reforms?

texts:
Before the Marian reforms, soldiers had to supply their own equipment. This did not exactly inspire anyone to form a professional standing army, especially since most were peasants who had to return to their fields after the military campaign.

So, in the period of the seven kings or in the early republic, why would anyone have wanted to join the army, especially if they had to pay for it out of their own pockets?

There were probably some who did it out of pure patriotic fervor, but what about the rest? The long periods of unrest between the patricii and plebeii, often caused by the lower classes being impoverished and indebted due to the costs of their military service, indicate that being a soldier was not lucrative. People abandoned their professions, went to the army paying it out of their own pockets, and seeing how many of them got into debt, it seems that the spoils of war didn't usually fully pay for their expenses.


texts: What exactly were the dealings of Ea-Nasir ("The Worst Businessman Of The 18th Century BC")?

texts:
I recently came across an article in Forbes by Kristina Killgrove titled Meet The Worst Businessman Of The 18th Century BC.

I know that cuneiform does not probably translate fluidly to English, and there is expected to be some degree of foreignness to the flow, but each and every translation in this article kept me guessing whether I had understood the exact sequence of events correctly.

  A man named Arbituram sends a note to Ea-Nasir, saying: "... you have
  given the copper... and give the silver and its profit to Nigga-Nanna.
  I have made you issue a tablet. Why have you not given me the copper?
  If you do not give it, I will recall your pledges. Good copper, give
  again and again. Send me a man."

"you have given the copper": to whom?
"and give the silver and its profit to Nigga-Nanna.": Is this a directive? Or a lament?
"I have made you issue a tablet.": A tablet is a pledge? A promissory note? Who has given the tablet to whom? I read this as Ea-Nasir having given Arbituram a pledge. In exchange for what?
"Why have you not given me the copper?": I thought the copper was already given? Is this a subsequent transaction? Why has the copper not been given?

Each and every one of the translations reads the same. The second one in the series makes it no clearer:

  Presumably a little while later, Arbituram gets restless and writes to
  Ea-Nasir, "Why have you not given the copper to Nigga-Nanna?
  Ili-idinnam says 'The copper that Nigga-Nanna has received is mine!'
  Be kind enough to give the copper, as much as he has a claim on you,
  to Nigga-Nanna."

Can someone help me understand what is going on here?


texts: Location of Hagemeister's six-language diaries

texts: Leontii A. Hagemeister (or Gagemeister) was a Baltic German navigator of the Russian navy and briefly governor of the Russian-American company. The best work on him in English is by Richard Pierce, whose Builders of Alaska repackages 1970s work saying that Hagemeister's journals remained unstudied: "One difficulty for the scholar is that he kept his diaries in Russian, German, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese." Pierce did not mention where the documents were kept, and I haven't succeeded in finding out. Which archive holds Hagemeister's diaries?


texts: How prestigious was the medical profession given the inefficacy of most treatments?

texts:
I have read that doctors were until the advent of penicillin not more effective than not seeing one. I am not sure what that meant: surely for some things, it was better to see a physician than not to but I guess for other things, you might be actually injured by the physician. I recall, for example, that by accident it was discovered that cauterizing wounds was not a very good idea when the oil for the procedure ran out and the military doctor could only clean and bandage the wounds of many and those soldiers actually were doing better. And we all know about bleeding and barber surgeons and mercury treatment for syphilis and failure to wash hands, etc.
So I am wondering if the country doctor in western movies was an anachronism or were doctors by the mid 19th century beginning to be respected or perhaps even before that it was a respected profession and if so, why? given their limited ability to treat patients.


texts: Was there any politization of "hard" science (math, physics, chemistry, biology) in the Asian communist countries?

texts:
Where proven science results contradict political views, the most obvious solution is to try to discredit those results, by creating your own versions. It has been done multiple times in history, for example, the Deutsche_Physik and Mathematik were created to fight with "Jewish" science (mainly Einstein's theory of relativity) while Lysenkoism was a Marxist answer to imperialistic Darwin's theory of natural selection. In recent years we had (hopefully short living) movement calling  that "Science must fall!" in South Africa (because science has been created by white people).  The list is long...

Were there similar movements in the Asian communist countries (Mao's China, Pol Pot's Cambodia, North Korea) created to contradict established (and confirmed at that moment) science?

To clarify: I am not looking for obvious propaganda (as in "we can raise 100 x more grain on the same area and produce 1000 x more steel than Capitalists using the same amount of resources because of magic and smoking cigarettes is good for you and smoking Marihuana is bad, because the tobacco industry/forestry is important for economy), obvious manipulations of history or false correlation fallacy (i.e. if rise of birds of populations happens at the same time as rice of oil price, then killing birds could reduce the cost of oil)

I'm looking for examples similar to mentioned above from Nazi Germany/Stalinist Soviet Union: when state was supporting math, physics, chemistry or biology for the ideological reasons contradicting the proofs created by Western science.

In an example, I'm looking for something like "It is untrue that Americans landed on the Moon because our scientists have proven that it is impossible" or "Quantum theory is incorrect because our scientists have proven that atoms are the smallest possible particle".

EDIt: this wiki page shows suppressed research in the Soviet Union, which includes parts of physics, cybernetics or statistics. I'm looking for something similar in regards to other communists Asian countries

EDIT2: I am interested only in the sciences described in the topic, which EXCLUDES various natural/alternative/traditional medicine, psychology, sociology, religion, philosophy etc.


texts: Was there a European response to the trail of tears?

texts:
This question is pretty straightforward. While looking into Victorian British beliefs about Americans and American history I began to wonder about European attitudes toward American Indians; and more specifically their reaction to the human atrocity that was the Indian Removal Act and The Trail of Tears. I quickly learned that Tocqueville glimpsed the start of it, and that while he was distressed by the expulsion he wrote it had been done "tranquilly, legally, philanthropically, without spilling blood, without violating a single one of the great principles of morality in the eyes of the world.”

This implies there was no reaction overseas, which is a little hard for me to believe. That's not because I have a high opinion of human nature, but rather because I've observed that competing nations are generally very quick to point out each other's faults. (Just as the British, for example, were quick to criticize the hypocrisy of American slavery, and the Americans were quick to attack British colonialism.) So I thought it might be productive to ask the following here:

Was there a roughly contemporary European response to the Trail of Tears and the removal of the American Indians? Whether in politics, journalism, literature, or elsewhere. As a side note, I'm using the phrase Trail of Tears in the loose sense, as shorthand for the many relocations that took place during the period.

Update: I'm reading Blood Moon by John Sedgwick, and at one point he says that the outside world saw the Trail of Tears as "pitting the Cherokee against Andrew Jackson and his nefarious Indian Removal Act." I haven't had time to finish the book, but a thorough word search makes me think Sedgwick won't elaborate much further. It's an interesting snippet to me because it implies there was an outside reaction, but seems to claim it was the opposite of what Tocqueville thought.


texts: Where can I find an official record of names and service dates for commanding officers of former US Navy vessels?

texts: I'm particularly interested in records for the Indiana-class pre-dreadnought battleship named USS Massachusetts (BB-2). Can this information be found online?


texts: When the Swiss Guard was formed, was the height requirement 174 cm (5' 8 1/2")?

texts:
The current minimum height required for the Swiss Guard at the Vatican is 5'8 1/2" or 174 cm (Swiss Guard requirements).
Has that always been the case? I remember reading years ago that the minimum height requirement used to be about a foot (30 cm) more than that back when the Guard was formed. However, I have not been able to find anything on this one way or the other in basic information about the Swiss Guard.

[edit]
Support for the possibility of a much higher height requirement.
The basic argument is that adequate nutrition (and possibly living at altitude) may have provided conditions for height to be taller then.

Anecdotal evidence from World Atlas - people in the Dinaric Alps are the tallest in the world. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/where-are-the-dinaric-alps.html While this is modern day and next door to Switzerland, I hope it is still of interest.
An NBA GM writes on NBA prospects in Africa. Average height in many areas is 198 cm (6'6").
THE PHYSIQUE OF THE ANCIENT HAWAIIANS "A skeleton from one of
the ancient burial caves measured six feet seven and three quarters inches (202.565 cm), and, as Bryan states, 'there is sufficient evidence to
establish the fact that men of even larger stature were by no
means unusual.'"


texts: Ideological differences between Mensheviks and Bolsheviks

texts: As I understand from this brief explanation, the main doctrinal difference was that the Bolsheviks were more radical (class struggle) while the Mensheviks were more in favor of class cooperation and peaceful transition. Is this interpretation correct and were there other doctrinal/ideological differences between the two factions?


texts: Apart from Veer Savarkar and S.A. Dange, were there any Indian revolutionaries who filed mercy petitions to the British?

texts:
In today's Indian politics, it is often pointed out by anti-Hindutva political parties that Veer Savarkar, an Indian freedom fighter and founder of the Hindutva philosophy, wrote mercy petitions to the British during his imprisonment. This political tactic is used in order to portray Savarkar as an Indian revolutionary who turned British stooge in later years.

Conveniently, it is often forgotten that S.A. Dange, a founding member of the Communist Party of India and also an Indian freedom fighter, during his imprisonment, wrote similar mercy petitions to the British.

My question is, are there any other revolutionaries apart from Veer Savarkar and S.A. Dange during the Indian freedom struggle, who in imprisonment, wrote similar mercy petitions to the British?

P.S. It would be appreciated if anyone could provide excerpts of such mercy petitions.


texts: What was the economic impact of Notre Dame When it was built?

texts:
After visiting Notre Dame a while back I became curious about the economic impacts behind building a cathedral in the middle ages.

The literature and the guides talked about a variety of motivations for building cathedrals

Religious

Expression of faith
Center of worship

Social

Birth, marriages and deaths

Organizational

A cathedral is the seat of a bishop
Prestige

The information provided indicated that an important cathedral with famous relics would draw pilgrims from all over bringing gifts.
But, they didn't talk about the economic affects of the cathedral during the middle ages.

It must have been something like building a new sports stadium in a city today.

This article mentions the different kinds of skilled labor needed to build a cathedral, but does not explain the economics. Hiring all those workers must have generated a huge economic impact.

The wiki article on cathedrals talks about the history, finances, functions, and other aspects of the cathedral but there is no mention of economic impact or motivation.

Here is a study on the economic and social impact of England's cathedrals in modern times. Wouldn't those who built the cathedral see similar or even proportionately larger economic growth?

The wiki article on Notre Dame talks about construction, architecture and history but fails to mention the economic impact the cathedral had on the area after it was built. The article does mention that 12 million people visit the cathedral each year currently.

  Medieval Cathedrals were the most obvious sign of the wealth of the church in Medieval England. Huge cathedrals were found principally at Canterbury and York, and in major cities such as Lincoln, Worcester, and Chichester. The cost of these buildings was vast – but the money to pay for these huge buildings came from the people via the many payments they had to make to the Roman Catholic Church.
  https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval-england/medieval-cathedrals/

A cathedral was a "sign" but it must have been more than just show, there must have been real economic affects.

  The possession of the relics of a popular saint was a source of funds to the individual church as the faithful made donations and benefices in the hope that they might receive spiritual aid, a blessing or a healing from the presence of the physical remains of the holy person. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_the_medieval_cathedrals_of_England

Having the body of Saint Thomas at Canterbury affected the economy, at least of the cathedral but it must have affected the area also.

  The posthumous veneration of Becket made the cathedral a place of pilgrimage. This brought both the need to expand the cathedral and the wealth that made it possible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_Cathedral

Did having the Crown of Thorns in Notre Dame affect the economy of Paris?

How much of an economic driver was Notre Dame to Paris when it was built and how much did economics play into the motivation of those who built it?


texts: What is the origin of the Flower of Life symbol?

texts:
I have been collecting resources and tracing the history of the Flower of Life geometrical symbol, since it contains great properties of many kinds:

While the oldest occurence in Abydos, Egypt has been questioned, I was long thinking Iran/Iraq has the oldest examples of the motif, but then I hit on this online Metropolitan museum of Art artifact page:

which shows a wooden box dating 1500BC and having a second degree Flower of Life symbol on the lid. Beaker from Marlik, Iran is not much younger (1400-1100BC).

These are few questions that should be handled on the answer: how did such a symbol develop, what kind of tools they needed to construct this on metal and wood work, what was the basic ideology, maybe religious meaning behind the motif, mathematic understading it requires to construct the symbol and did they have a name for it?

Here is a collection of the images presenting the symbol or some simpler forms of it.
I hope this introduction will give enough background for the topic and show the level of comprehension I hope for the answer.


texts: Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ever called “Wolfi” or “Wolfie” by his wife?

texts:
In the 1984 film Amadeus based on Wolfgang Mozart's life, Wolfgang is commonly referred to as "Wolfi", especially by his wife (as spelled in the scripts I could find online).

Amadeus also takes plenty of artistic liberties with the actual life of Mozart and I'm aware that using it as a source would be ill-advised. However, there is also a 1994 history edutainment game titled Mario's Time Machine that makes the claim that Constanze's nickname for Wolfgang was "Wolfie".

The game occasionally makes oddball jokes or skews the date of certain events to more easily present the information to the players, but when it comes to the history book pictured above, everything in there is supposed to be 100% factual (the underlined parts are sections where the player must write in the answers themselves, and the game only accepts them if they are correct).

I want to give the game the benefit of the doubt and believe that they didn't use Amadeus as a source, but my searches online have been bereft of information. The Wikipedia page for Mozart's name doesn't even touch on any potential nicknames of his. The closest I could find is an enotes answer that makes the claim that "the only officially recognized nickname in Mozart's immediate family (aside from his son), was his sister: Maria Anna Mozart nicknamed: Nannerl" (and I can't tell if that includes or discludes Wolfgang Mozart himself), and a blogpost specifically discussing the fictional elements of Amadeus that claims that, "Mozart was never called Wolfie. His nicknames were Wolferl, Wofl and Wolfgangerl. Likewise, his wife Constanze was not called Stanzie, but Stanchen and Stanzerl." The blogpost does have sources at the bottom, but it unfortunately doesn't specify which source is applicable for which section. While "Wolferl" and "Wolfgangerl" do appear in the "Early Journeys" section of Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (selected and edited by Hans Mersmann), the other nicknames bring up no results through Google Books, so I'm not entirely comfortable taking the blog post's word as gospel.

I'm not expecting a letter from Mozart saying, "By the way, nobody has ever called me Wolfi and anyone who says that my nickname is Wolfi is lying," but for a "fact" that seemingly originates from a loose-with-the-facts film yet was included in a history game intended to educate its players, I've found it difficult to definitively conclude, one way or the other, whether Wolfgang's nickname was ever "Wolfie" in his lifetime.


texts: Have breasts been proudly and publicly uncovered, in any culture, without general disapproval?

texts:
Are there, or have there been, any cultures in which women uncover and treat their own breasts in much the same way that some men treat their own beards (either with pride, or as a display of adulthood and/or attractiveness) - without discouragement from their society?

Many women in the U.S. proudly display their breasts, via deep cleavage.

But, there are two reasons they don't meet my criteria:

In most places in the U.S., women have to cover their areolas and nipples, showing that their society still doesn't accept breasts.
Much of their society views exposure, sometimes even without visible areola, as scandalous or inappropriate.

And I'm especially, but not only, curious if this was ever practiced in the context of a coming of age celebration.


texts: What do men in the middle of a phalanx contribute?

texts: I understand how the Phalanx can have an almost impenetrable front, and I understand the rear and sides may have to defend against an attack like the front - but what purpose do men in the middle serve? In other words, why would you ever have a Phalanx deeper than 4 rows?


texts: What was the primary method the Jews used to make a fire at the time of Jesus?

texts: In 0BC or AD depending on your approach to history I suppose, what was the primary method of ignition to start a fire, used by the Jewish People.  I am sure flint and steel were available at that time but was it common and cheap enough to be available to the average household?  Did the Jew's use friction fire, flint and steel?  Please cite sources for your answer.  I have been unable to find definitive source on how fires were made at the time of Christ.


texts: What is this crime, "F and A", from the 1890's US?

texts:
What was the crime of "F and A" in North Carolina in the United States in the 1890's?

My wife saw that one of her female ancestors was arrested and served 6 months in jail for this crime in the 1890's, but we have not been able to find out what it is exactly.


texts: Can anyone help identify this World War One uniform?

texts: I have this photograph of my grandfather in uniform - taken in Seaford, Sussex, England, some time after 1914.  Can anyone tell me anything about this uniform?  He eventually joined 525 coy. 62nd Division of the Army Service Corps. Thanks


texts: When, where, why did clean shaving for men become the norm?

texts:
Fashions come in and out, and beards alternate between trendy and passe. By the introduction of the safety razor, shaving had obviously become so common that even the poorest farmer could afford to walk around with smooth cheeks.

But who was the first culture to say "this stuff growing out of our faces is rubbish" and what was the reason? I know that Alexander ordered his soldiers to shave their beards, but an army is not a society, so that doesn't really count unless the folks back home emulated this shaving.


texts: What is the source of this quote about Demosthenes by Philip II of Macedon?

texts:
I've read that Philip II of Macedon said that if he had listened to Demosthenes, he would have declared war on himself.

Ref. (it's an old book, and in Spanish): Historia de la literatura griega, 2, by Jacinto Diaz.

Now, does anybody know where could this be written? I'm trying to get the exact phrase.


texts: Were the Barons who pushed King John to Sign the Magna Carta descended from the Normans?

texts: In reading "The Plantagenets" I noticed the names of many of the barons had a name like "so-and-so De so-and-so".  It's the "De" that caught my attention as not sounding very British or Anglo. Instead they sounded "French" to my amateur ear.  Is it fair to assume those names come from the Norman Conquerers?


texts:
What is the timeline of events that led to Germany's current geographic shape?

For example:

1871: German Empire formed
1919: Weimar Republic formed


texts: What were Hispanic people called in the US in the 1800s?

texts:
Today in the US, people from Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas are called by various names: Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, etc.  What was the term used by Americans for such people in the 1800s?

If you answer the question, please also let me know if the term you give is/was considered derogatory, so I'll know if I have to be careful to put it in the right context.


texts:
Prime numbers are those whole numbers greater than 1 which cannot be written as a product of numbers greater than 1. I'm curious about their very early history, say 200 BC and earlier. What I know:

Apparently Thymaridas (Θυμαρίδας) of Paros knew of prime numbers, around 350 BC
About 50 years later, Euclid (Εὐκλείδης) of Alexandria proved that there were infinitely many primes
Eratosthenes (Ἐρατοσθένης) of Cyrene discovered a fast method for finding primes about 100 years after Euclid

But this is only a skeleton, and looks only to the Greeks. What other cultures knew of these numbers? (Many people seem to think -- without good evidence -- that the Ishango bone means that primes were understood in the Paleolithic.) What did Thymaridas know? What is the first mention of prime numbers in a historical source?

Of course I would be happy for a pointer to sources covering this information.


texts: How close to the "free zone" did slaves get (excluding escapees and those with owner permission to go there (i.e. temporarily, just passing through))?

texts:
A slave must've lived in sight of the "free zone" (evidence: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2013/09/04/abraham_lincoln_the_president_used_this_map_to_see_where_slavery_was_strongest.html the northernmost slave county on the continent was under 0.1 or 0.05% slaves but not zero and was under 3-4 miles from Ohio or PA everywhere in the county) Since there were so many slaves if I had to guess I would guess that some probably lived on a farm bordering a free state or territory (though yes they were not completely safe until Canada)

Did any live or work on islands in the rivers between slave and free that belonged to the slave side? Or even on one of those weird lands that happen when a channel silts up and moves a piece of your state to the wrong side of the river? That must be the most isolated you can be from the slave states while still in a slave state. Not only is there a land border but there's a moat between you and all but like 3 southerners.

What effects of closeness to the north do historians know about?

I also wonder what causes a guy to decide to have slaves that plow inches or yards or whatever the minimum was from the Mason-Dixon line or be the northernmost dude with slaves in a surrounded sliver of the side of the state that's relatively anti-slavery, and with a land border (Hancock County, WV).

@commenters: Yes, I know they were still "property" in the free states that allowed them there temporarily but I assumed they wouldn't allow you to farm with them in the free states. I just guessed that some would use their "property" as a servant while they were traveling through free states as it's indoors so who could find out. If they even had laws that they couldn't work in transit, that is. Did they even have laws that you couldn't make the slave work but you could still bring them in for awhile? If they were that anti-slavery then why wouldn't they just pass a law like my state (NY) which didn't allow them in without freeing them?


texts: Why was the Congressional Apportionment Amendment opposed?

texts: The Congressional Apportionment Amendment only established a principal for congressional apportionment, which was followed out of custom for many years after the adoption of the constitution. If these principles were to be followed anyway, why was the amendment opposed? Did it differ between opposing states?


texts: Any public database of all political entities throughout history?

texts:
Some possible candidates I found online:

Wikipedia, grouped by century: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_entities_in_the_1st_century
http://dataforhistory.org/?

But unfortunately nothing serious.

Ideally, it would be an organized database, which some basic relationship between these countries.

If it's only limited to a certain period in history, it'd help too.


texts: Why did the Party "Deutschkonservative" vote against renewing the "Sozialistengesetze" in 1890?

texts:
The German conservative Party "Deutschkonservative" voted in 1890 against the annual renewal of the "Sozialistengesetze" ("Laws against the revolutionary machinations of social democracy"). This effectively lifted the ban on the Social Democratic Party.

The German Conservative party ("Deutschkonservative") was deeply aristocratic and in later years hatefully anti-socialist, so this is a strange act. Furthermore the votes of the German Conservatives were pivotal. Had they voted for upholding the ban on the social democratic party, the motion would have passed the Reichstag. (The conservative German Reichspartei and the center-right National Liberals were in favor of keeping the ban, the catholic Center and the center-left Free Liberals and some minority representatives were against prolonging the ban.)

Does anybody know why the "Deutschkonservative" did this?


texts: Is there any resource for showing world territories at different years?

texts:
I teaching a secondary class about a region where the borders were constantly shifting, government constantly changing hands, people within the area changing nationality several times, etc. which is highly confusing to the students. Since it connects with colonialism, I need world maps, not just the local map.

I've tried searching image searches for world maps in year X, but it is hit-or-miss that I find a world map for a particular year, and one map to the next is inconsistent in style.

I need some consistent maps that show where borders changed, when territories changed hands, so students can visually see what they've been reading about.

Is there any resource that allows people to enter in a date, and it displays a world map with colored-in or outlines of the territories?


texts: Which car was the first to come with a cigarette lighter receptacle?

texts:
While many cars today are phasing out the cigarette lighter (if they do have them they no longer include the lighter, just the socket), I was curious which car or car manufacturer was the first to include a cigarette lighter.

The wiki doesn't contain very much information and the inventor's German wiki never says that he invented the cigarette lighter. I found an interesting conversation on reddit but unfortunately it doesn't answer my question.

Anyone have any ideas?


texts: How could the USS Maine explosion have been investigated?

texts: After the explosion of the USS Maine in 1898, was it possible for the United States to ask Spain if their mine had sunk the USN Battleship?


texts: What was the output of a Bessemer Converter?

texts:
Henry Bessemer's Bessemer converter is generally understood to be the technology that created the concept of industrial-scale steelmaking, but what constitutes "industrial-scale"?  The Wikipedia page says that a Bessemer converter could process batches of 5 to 30 tons at a time, and that one stage of the process lasts 20 minutes, but that's as far as the information goes.

If I was a steelsmith in the 1860s with a single Bessemer converter (original model) and access to an unlimited amount of raw materials, how much steel could I make each day at a sustainable pace?


texts:
In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, we saw the teams of North and South Korea marching together. This was repeated for the 2004 and 2006 (Winter) Olympics.

This didn't happen in 2008 (and we can understand that the relationship between Korea and China is very sensitive, so we allow them some diplomacy.) But in 2012 in London they didn't march together.

So I'm wondering - what is going on? Have they stopped now?

My question is: Why have North and South Korea stopped marching together at the Olympics?


texts: Was Jesus thought to be Jewish before the Renaissance?

texts:
Anthony Grafton claims that "the Christian discovery of a Jewish Jesus began not in the 19th century but in the Renaissance"; elsewhere, "Sixteenth and seventeenth-century scholars came to see, as clearly as contemporary specialists on the New Testament, that Christianity began as a Jewish sect". 2

I didn't watch the entire lecture, but I wasn't even aware that there was any point in history where it was believed that he wasn't Jewish. He's referred to as "King of the Jews" in the New Testament, after all. I couldn't find any sources discussing this; does anyone know of any?


texts: What were the cultures of peasants in China during the Hundred Schools period (600-221BCE)?

texts:
During the Hundred Schools period (600-221 BCE) Chinese cultures changed significantly as ideas were contested amongst the ruling elite.

What do we know of peasant cultures in China during this period?  What was their yearly economy?  Their diet?  Their marriage customs?  Their religions?  Do we have accounts of their lives and thoughts?  Do we have waste fragment texts explaining their culture?

What was the every day life of the ordinary person in China in this period, and which major sources support such an account?


texts: Has the Federal Republic of Germany ever refused diplomatic credentials for foreign ambassadors?

texts:
The proposal of Douglas Macgregor as US ambassador for Germany has been criticized in Germany and it has been suggested that the Germany government should simply refuse his diplomatic credentials. According to German Wikipedia  the first step of being accepted as an ambassador to a foreign state is to discreetly ask the foreign state if the ambassador would be accepted, which must be agreed to formally and can be refused without giving any reasons.
Though this is unlikely for political reasons to happen for a proposed US ambassador to Germany - do we know if the Federal Republic of Germany has ever done this?


texts: Did anyone in Spain support the return of Alfonso XIII?

texts:
Alfonso XIII was deposed as King of Spain in 1931. As we all know, the Spanish republic in turn was overthrown in 1939. I know there were Falangists who wanted something Hitler-y, and Carlists who supported a 'pure' Catholic monarchy and alternative succession.

But did anyone suggest bringing the king back, since he was still alive?. Obviously Franco didn't want to share power with anyone, but that obviously wasn't going to be his public rationale for keeping Alfonso away.


texts: Was lobster considered a poor man's food in the Georgian era?

texts:
Many years ago I took a tour through a restored Georgian-era house in Dublin (best €2 I spent that summer). This included some pretty good explanations on the everyday life and customs in that period, along with a tidbit that stuck with me:

"Lobster was plentiful in those days, so much that one could pick it by hand by the shoreline. It was also considered food for the poor, so much so that servants at respectable households had it in their contracts that they would not be served lobster more than x times a week."

I have done some research that seems to back this up, albeit places the contract claim in the context of America rather than the Old Continent. My questions are:

Was lobster considered a poor man's food in Europe or America in the 18th and 19th centuries?

How and when did this social trend reverse?

Does the contractual limitation claim hold water?


texts: From the information I gathered, the banknotes of the Straits dollar were printed by Thomas De La Rue & Company, Limited, a firm based in London. Were the banknotes of the Straits dollar printed in Britain, in India, or in the Straits Settlements?


texts: Could Columbus have suspected the New World lay on his path to India?

texts:
According to most historical textbooks Columbus made mistakes while measuring the size of the Earth. This led him to believe, that he can travel to India westwards in a reasonable time. This is however quite strange, that he let no one correct him in his mistake.

Could it be possible and was it ever considered by the historians, that Columbus was simply lying that he can find the way to India? That he knew about existence of Americas somehow and used the lie to get funding for his operation?


texts: How were foreign names written in runes?

texts:
Are there any example of runic writing of a foreign name? Maybe journals or histories from famous  warriors, travelers or foes?

If so, how they do it with the runes?

Basically I'm trying to find how would they write my name


texts: What does "MET HLS INDIA" inscribed on a bottom of brass sugar bowl mean?

texts:
I've recently inherited two old Indian brass items, bought in the 1970s (or earlier) in Poland, and I'm trying to work out where they come from.
I've easily identified the origin of the ice bucket, since it has "EIC E839 India" inscribed on the bottom - which clearly means "item E839 from India, produced/imported/pilfered by the East India Company". The East India Company was a world-famous organization and there are plenty of sources concerning its history, so my curiosity is sated.
However, I have trouble identifying the origin of the sugar bowl, which looks like this:

The inscription at the bottom says:

MET
HLS INDIA

Now, while it's clear that this "HLS India" has been a pretty dang prolific exporter to Poland, I have trouble with determining what "HLS India" actually was.
My Google searches are flooded with links to:

Human Learning Systems India (an education company),
Honour Lane Shipping (founded in 1997, so about 20+ years too late),
HLS India Limited (an oil company).

None of the organizations on the "HLS" disambiguation page on Wikipedia seem to be in the overseas shipping business. The East India Company doesn't seem to have used the "HLS" abbreviation, either.
So - what does "MET HLS INDIA" mean?


texts: Can Bill Clinton run for president of France?

texts:
Bill Clinton says in an interview (Bill Clinton on running for political office again) :

  Because I was born in Arkansas, which is part of Louisiana Purchase, any person anywhere in the world that was born in a place that ever was a part of the French empire, if you move to, if you live in France for six months and speak French you can run for president of France

Is it true or just a joke ?


texts: What were the logistics of the the Tehran Conference of 1943?

texts:
The Tehran Conference during World War 2 was a hugely important meeting, and perhaps more importantly, a hugely dangerous proposition.  Having all those leaders together in one place risked utter catastrophe if something went wrong, such as assassination (as the Russians erroneously insist almost happened with Operation Long Jump) or something more mundane like a plane crash or other disaster en-route, a local riot, a crazed gunman or fame-seeker, or any other of a thousand things that threaten world leaders when they travel.

What preparations went into making the conference secure?  Tehran was controlled by Britain at the time as I recall (although I could be wrong about that), but surely the Americans and Russians did their own security sweeps of the area?  How much advance time did they take to get things in order for the conference, and how big were the advance teams?  Were new facilities needed, either for support/security or for the conference itself?  Did the various nations collaborate in their preparations, or did each have their own security details and procedures?

Can anyone shed any light, ideally a detailed timetable but any information would be appreciated, about the work that went into making the Tehran Conference secure and efficient, once the various leaders had agreed to have it?


texts: Which European countries did not have a revolution in the aftermath of the French Revolution and why?

texts: The French Revolution of 1789 initiated revolutions in a number of European countries, replacing the idea of a monarchy with the idea of a republic built on enlightment ideals. Which European countries escaped the turmoil and why?


texts: What was Yugoslavia doing in the Angolan Civil War?

texts:
I was looking through Wikipedia (a mixed quality source) about the military history of Yugoslavia, when I noticed this odd listing of Yugoslavia as one of the combatants in the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002). If this was true, then it deviates from Yugoslavia's traditional foreign policy of neutrality and non-intervention during the Cold War.

The Wikipedia article that mentions this does not go into any detail about this topic other than the list. Here is the link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_Yugoslavia

I would imagine that Yugoslavia, whatever it was doing there, must have left the conflict zone well before the break up process of that country in the mid 1990's.

Besides this conclusion, I must wonder what the mission of the Yugoslavian military was in Angola? Was it to just provide non-combat military assistance? Did it provide stand off combat military related support, such as artillery cover, air support, and military training? Or did Yugoslav military forces get involved in frontline, tactical level engagements with hostile military forces in that country?

If anyone could please fill me in on this historical oddity, it would be appreciated.


texts: Why does some Califate money feature crosses?

texts:
Why does some Muslim money feature crosses?
Like the following ones:

Was the cross an early Muslim symbol?


texts: Was the Macedonian phalanx more effective than hoplites?

texts:
Was the Macedonian phalanx, with their long spears and small shields, really more effective than the hoplites?

What was the incentive for Philip II to radically change the way infantry fought back in those days? Is there any good source to read about the reasons the Macedonians used the phalanx instead of the classic hoplites way of fighting?

I know Alexander the Great conquered the known world with the phalanx, but I think to give the credit to the phalanx would be false here. The Romans seemed to outfight the Macedonian phalanx pretty easily.


texts: How could someone avoid US military service in the early 1950's?

texts:
I have been trying to find information on what could be legitimate deferments for military service during the 50's in the US that don't involve draft dodging. I am a writer and working on a project that touches on this and while I find good lists and information on deferments during WWII and Vietnam, I haven't been so lucky with people looking to avoid service during the Korean War.

I am working so far based on the assumption that most the deferments in place during the late 40's would probably still work. And while I considered the route of conscientious objector, that still required service of some kind. Unfortunately the people I could have asked about this and who are in part the basis of this are no longer with us. The internet is again usually directing me to sources for either WWII or Vietnam.

So my question is, if someone did not want to enlist in the US Army during the 1950's, but also could not afford to risk draft dodging, and did not seem to qualify for most deferments, what where their options?

(I'll keep researching and see if I find more information but also looking to see if anyone can at least point me in the direction of some valid sources)


texts: Historical examples of significant no man's lands between states in perpetual conflict

texts:
What are some historical examples, if any, of large-scale (say > 100 square kilometers)  "no-man's lands" between states in perpetual conflict?  These states would be mutually hostile, firmly divided perhaps by ideology or religion, but would not be engaged in an active war.  The land in question might see some use by the native population for hunting or similar purposes but is effectively devoid of any settlement, any preexisting ones having been abandoned or destroyed.

The best example would remain depopulated for at least several decades, and be established on otherwise perfectly habitable territory.


texts: What was the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Carolingian emperors?

texts: Charlemagne was crowned by the pope in the year 800. But was it Charlemagne's choice, or was he compelled to do so? Having conquered his lands, couldn't he just crown himself emperor? Moreover, did the pope and the bishops have any temporal power over the Empire? How did this relationship change with the death of Charlemagne?


texts: Who were these two conspirators against Titus?

texts:
Suetonius has this to tell us in Chapter 9 of his biography of Titus:

  When two men of patrician family were found guilty of aspiring to the
  throne, he satisfied himself with warning them to abandon their
  attempt, saying that imperial power was the gift of fate, and
  promising that if there was anything else they desired, he himself
  would bestow it. [Suetonius lists then at some length some
  conspicuous marks of favour Titus showed to these men] It is even
  said that inquiring into the horoscope of each of them, he declared
  that danger threatened them both, but at some future time and from
  another, as turned out to be the case.

I wonder - do we know who these men were? Can they be identified with known victims of later emperors?


texts: As Rome began to decline is there any contemporary accounts from time as to the cause?

texts:
I guess fall of Rome seems amazing to me in that they had things we recognise in modern states
Militia, ability to buy property with paper rather than gold and manufacturing.
As decline began as there any contemporary sources warning the empire that they risked loosing it all?


texts: Why didn't Germans use chemical warfare during WW2?

texts:
(I have read this discussion but I feel it does not answer completely)

Why haven't Germans massively use chemical warfare during WW2?

The Wikipedia has a text, but for me the reasons are weak:

  Stanley P. Lovell, Deputy Director for Research and Development of the Office of Strategic Services, reports in his book Of Spies and Stratagems that the Allies knew the Germans had quantities of Gas Blau available for use in the defense of the Atlantic Wall. The use of nerve gas on the Normandy beachhead would have seriously impeded the Allies and possibly caused the invasion to fail altogether. He submitted the question "Why was nerve gas not used in Normandy?" to be asked of Hermann Göring during his interrogation. Göring answered that the reason gas was not used had to do with horses. The Wehrmacht was dependent upon horse-drawn transport to move supplies to their combat units, and had never been able to devise a gas mask horses could tolerate; the versions they developed would not pass enough pure air to allow the horses to pull a cart. Thus, gas was of no use to the German Army under most conditions

This is a weak reason, as there were methods to use gas with horses during WW1 - some pictures here.

Of course one reason could be that during the Blitzkrieg the use of gas was just waste of time, but in a defensive war, when Germans used anything they could (eg. in 1945, were there are famous pictures of children equipped with Panzerfaust) this could stop enemies' advance.

I also don't believe in any ethical reasons like inhuman warfare or that Hitler forbid because his own experience during WW1. It was used in Auschwitz and other camps.

I've googled this question and there are lot of discussions on the web. But these are mainly discussions and private opinions.

I'd like to read an answer backed with sources.


texts: What are the hay effigies in this Japanese movie?

texts:
I am moving this question from Movies.SE in hope of getting the answer here
The movie The Blind Swordsman Zaitochi (2003) takes places somewhere in a small town in Japan, probably around the 19th century (one of the characters tries to shoot using a revolver). During the movie, the main character witnesses a procession carrying hay effigies, that are later placed on the fields:

Initially I thought that they are just scarecrows, but the whole procession (and a bit of reverence when the main character picks up the fallen effigy) suggests that they might have a bigger cultural or religious meaning.
What are those effigies? What do they represent and what is their purpose? If they are just scarecrows, why there is such a huge ceremony involved?


texts:
Does the Arch of Constantine in Rome have an interior?  (I'm not speaking of the empty space formed by the arch itself, but rather of the massive stone structure which forms the arch.)

The Wikipedia article on the Arch claims, without citing any sources, that "[a] staircase within the arch is entered from a door at some height from the ground, on the west side, facing the Palatine Hill."  If this is true, what is at the top of the staircase?  Does it lead directly to the roof, or are there any interior rooms?  Is there a corresponding staircase down the other column?  Where can I see photographs of the door and of the interior?


texts: Was (Mahanian) "control of the seas" an Athenian goal in the age of the trireme?

texts:
I recently read Nic Fields' 'Ancient Greek Warship: 500-322 BC'. In it, he makes the claim:

  Control of the seas in the modern sense was impossible for a trireme navy, and sea power, therefore, had distinct limitations. Nevertheless, it did allow a maritime state to strike at very great distances; Athens could reach as far as southern Italy, Cyprus or Egypt, the last location being some 1,400km (870 miles) from Peiraieus. Much closer to home, Athens could raid up and down the Peloponnesian coast.

I interpret this as meaning a Mahanian-style "control of the seas", though it does not necessarily have to mean that. However, I think Mr Fields is stretching for a definition which is meaningless for Athens and Her Allies. Please note that Mr Fields does not define what exactly he means by 'modern sense' 'control of the seas', hence my interpretation of this as completely trying to forbid the enemy from taking to say, as for example the British tried, not necessarily succeeded, in the Napoleonic Wars against the Franco-Spanish alliance.

In no place, for example, while reading Thucydides did I get the impression that a Clausewitzian 'Total War' was what the Athenians had in mind. I have seen interpretations of the Athenian refusal to support Corcyra with full strength in the beginning of the war, alongside with their willingness to allow Attica to be laid waste to, brought up as examples of endless (total) war (war for creating a total hegemony), but I am not entirely certain that holds up to scrutiny. And while Athenian sailors were not employed in any other field and could stay at sea for a long time, I imagine they would have had regular breaks during a year if only to avoid the winter seas (or, at least, avoided very major expeditions in those time periods) (no proof of this except vague recollections from Mr Hale's book on the Athenian navy).

However, this hasn't really brought me closer to my question. What I am trying to say here is that I don't think the Athenians tried to ever totally "control the sea" because that idea did not come to them as an existential strategy. While the creation of outstanding forts near Spartan properties was common enough, this never seemed to be a permanent goal as opposed to trying to gain a short-term benefit (for leverage in later negotiations -- especially true with the captured hoplites after Sphacteria, etc).

So, the question: Is it right to discuss 'control of the seas' in the 'modern sense' as an Athenian objective in the Peloponnesian War and why?

Note that I have steered away from the reasoning of whether 'control of the sea' was impossible as it has secondary relevance, and because it is also far more opinion-based. If someone, however, can utilise factual information to prove or disprove this, you are welcome to add this to your answer.


texts: What portion of Northerners were against slavery for humanitarian reasons in 1860 America?

texts:
In a Civil war History class, I heard that the percentage of people who favored the abolition of slavery was quite low in the North. Furthermore I understand that, at the time, some of the main arguments for abolition of slavery had nothing to do with caring for the welfare of slaves. Some disliked slave owners because they were wealthy and powerful, others wanted to get blacks out of the country altogether because they thought them to be undesirable. For example:

  ...states like Oregon, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana passed constitutional
  provisions banning black settlement within their boundaries.
  Free-Soil, Whig, and Republican politicians like David Wilmot
  supported these measures because they protected white labor from
  possible competition from free blacks, exposing the racist roots of
  free labor ideology in the 1840s and 1850s.

Approximately what portion of the population in the North in 1860 (or slightly earlier if the data is better) wanted to end slavery because it was a brutal practice that violated the human rights and dignity of slaves?


texts: What was the average US unemployment rate for Democrat and Republican presidents?

texts: Starting with the end of World War 1, what was the average unemployment rate for each United States President? Was the overall average different for Republican and Democratic presidents, and if so, by how much? The time frame can be fudged here because of available information.


texts: Why are some later Mayan scripts unintelligible?

texts:
Many of the [Maya's] greatest cities emptied, as did much of the countryside around them. Incredibly, some of the last inscriptions are gibberish, as if scribes had lost the knowledge of writing and were reduced to meaningless imitation of their ancestors.

The above quote is from the book 1491 by Charles Mann, which I'm reading. This quote pertains to the Maya collapse. Many Mayan scripts have been deciphered, but some later ones have not.
First, is this true? There is no source for this particular claim, but 1491 seems to be quite well regarded. I know very little about precolumbian history, so perhaps it's so well known by more knowledgeable people that it isn't worth footnoting.
Secondly, what theories explain why the meaning of later Maya texts is obscure? Some possibilities that occurred to me -

Writing had some kind of ritual significance beyond its practical value. It was believed that stopping would offend the gods even more, even though whatever utilitarian need to write no longer applied.

Similar to above, but scribes kept going because they were paid by the word. They had to keep writing if they wanted to eat, even if there was nothing to write.

It was some kind of protest by the scribes - a kind of go-slow.

The scribes had to start writing in an otherwise unknown language for some political reason (e.g. the overthrow of native elites by foreign elites). If this is true, one would expect mathematical analysis to reveal some kind of natural language pattern in the characters.

They started writing in some kind of cipher. Again, if so it should be possible to verify that the writing is not meaningless, even if its actual meaning is obscure.

Have any of these explanations been proposed? If not, what has?


texts: Was there ever a conqueror who named the place after themselves?

texts:
In fiction, there are examples of conquerors laying claim to a place (castle, town, city, region) and then changing its name, sometimes even after themselves.

There are plenty of streets, towns, and regions named after people in non-fiction, too, but are there any that were named by its conqueror?


texts: The first head/chief/leader/etc of the Federal Housing Administration?

texts: Did the FHA have a head? If it did who was he/she?


texts:
As the title states: What language was spoken between Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian I. of Habsburg?

I could think of three possibilities: Latin, French and German, but am leaning towards German.


texts: What legal or moral mechanism ensured Stalin's grip on power?

texts:
TL;DR version: How tyrants hold power, in general, and how did Stalin?

I mean, for example, Hitler was voted (the "enabling bill") as the absolute ruler of Germany and his will became legally law (let's not debate legitimacy here).

But, as far as I know, the supreme power in soviet empire was never delegated, legally, to Stalin. The supreme governing body was the Politburo. Still, somewhat (how?), Stalin controlled the Politburo.

How could that have been? A motion for his instant dismissal, taken with a simple majority, could have toppled his power instantly. Mussolini had that surprise when he convened a meeting of the Grand Council of Fascism. But, fact is, the GCF was not convened unless Mussolini wanted and his dismissal came after many years when the GCF was simply not convened.

Still, nothing similar happened in Kremlin. The Politburo was convened regularly (or, quite often), a simple majority would have dismiss Stalin immediately, people in the Politburo were quite harsh politicians, so I doubt about moral issues and cowardice, they saw people killed around them, so they must have some hints that theirs own lives are at stake.

A simple vote would have suffice and the occasion presented herself many times.

Was a law? A custom? What prevented such coup against Stalin and what was the legal, or maybe also the psychological base of his power? Why the Politburo simply did not dismiss him but accepted quite easily even killing among its own members? I imagine others too were hungry for power.

Other oligarchies that come into mind (the Khmer Rouge regime, the Argentinian and Greek juntas, Franco regime etc.) were never submitted to such degree to a single person.

On a larger scale, how others dictators keep such a tight grip on power? For example, when they are abroad, any meeting could topple them. Still this rarely, if ever, happens.

Thank you.

Edit: Thanks to Semaphore, let's admit fear as a reason. But, still, the Politburo members were the most powerful people in the empire and their votes counted as equal weight with Stalin's. A simple bill passed against him would have been enough. I think police and army would obey the new master, even if a bit reluctantly. Not much later, Krustchev denounced Stalin and it was not a general uprising against him. So, if it is fear, what made the entire Politburo so fearful so they accepted kills even among themselves? I mean the real reason, they were 10 people in room, during a meeting, no arms, no guns, no monsters inside. They were not handcuffed. Anyone could pass a bill and it would have been over.


texts:
The year when King Charles XII of Sweden was advancing towards Moscow during the great Northern War was exceptionally cold. This winter was not calculated by Sweden and Charles had to escape to the Ukraine and Ottoman Empire to resupply.

What were the causes of the Great Frost of 1709 and was it ever predicted?


texts: Battles that ended with a disaster for all the parties

texts:
Have there ever been (recorded) battles (in the middle-ages) which ended badly for all parties?

I would like to explain what could be meant by disaster giving to possible scenarios:

by disaster I don't mean there was no "winner" during or after the battle in means of fighting. The disaster could be that even if one party won the battle neither of the involved parties could profit from that due to some circumstances like new political/military alliances or something else...
also
for example even if one of two parties won the battle both the
Kings/Rulers/Leaders died during the battle and their former countries or properties fall into a disastrous war because of claims of inheritance or a kind of civil war or revolt against the Leaders started during the fight?
So a disaster or a bad ending could be a short/middle term result which wasn't in favour of neither of the involved parties!

An example which don't meet all my "conditions" I know was the Battle of Alcacer Quibir three Kings died but the battle didn't end up that bad for one party as they could hide the death of the King and the succession was could have been cleared without big trouble, as it seems!

This is explicitly an list question, so feel free to provide list answers.


texts: How long before someone was declared dead in ancient Greece?

texts:
In The Odyssey, everyone in Ithaca - except Penelope - assumes that since most surviving Greeks returned home shortly after the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus is dead. This legitimises a group of men, the suitors, to court Penelope and claim his kingdom.

War, as is the case with Odysseus, was not the only opportunity for someone to go missing for an extended period of time in ancient Greece. I wonder how long the Greeks would wait before declaring them dead in absentia. How long - for example - a real-life parallel to Penelope would have to wait before remarrying?


texts: Why is this hat identified as the Byzantine Imperial kamelaukion?

texts:
Concerning the word kamelaukion/kalemaukion (footnote), we must assume it had several meanings. The common one occurs in Nikephoros Phocas and is head gear for ordinary infantrymen. The second one is an extremely important piece of imperial headgear. Let’s only talk about the latter here.

I always see byzantinists (Example) claiming the following two images depict the kamelaukion. But I never get an explanation, how they arrive at the identification.

The fact is that Constantine porphyrogenitus explicitly refers to the kamelaukion as a στέμμα, which coming from a Modern Greek perspective, I don’t believe was used for hats (I am still researching this, you are welcome to disprove me). He makes an enormous point of the divine origin of this gear and how it is to be worn only under special circumstances.

This to me argues very much against finding the only Byzantine image of the kamelaukion on non-emperor Chatzikis(Image 1). If I was to search Byzantine images for it, I would look at the stemmata emperors are handed by God on icons commemorating great successes:

I am not saying this is anything like a solid theory. I am just expressing my doubts and asking for the grounds for the usual belief. For one thing, the headgear bestowed unto Basil the Second differs from today’s priestly καλημαύκι in terms of colour, but the shape is actually similar, especially if we consider the rarer type without a brim:

Admittedly, stemma doesn’t seem fitting for what Basil the Second (Second from last Image) is wearing, but perhaps for what the angel is holding, if the latter is, as I think open.

Why is the type of hat in the first two images often identified as kalemaukion? There must be papers establishing this identity or clear original text that I am unaware of.

Footnote: As far as I know, the word wise identity between older kamelaukion and newer kalemaukion has never been doubted and they are always interpreted as derived from Latin camelaucium


texts: Was the Napoleonic era cavalry armour effective against firearms?

texts:
During the Napoleonic wars in Europe, many heavy cavalry units still retain the use of armours, for example, French Carabiniers-à-Cheval below,

How effective were these to protect the cavalryman against enemy fire, like muskets or rifles? Did they effectively reduce the casualties from gunfire, or were they just used to protect against non-firearms attack like swords? Or were they just used for ceremonial/prestige reasons?


texts: Why didn't the Germanic tribes harry the Roman troops to distraction when Caesar built the bridges across the Rhine?

texts:
The two bridges across the Rhine river are considered among the greatest military engineering achievements in the ancient world.

  Caesar's Bridge across the Rhine, the first two bridges to cross the Rhine River on record, were built by Julius Caesar and his legionaries during the Gallic War in 55 BC and 53 BC. Strategically successful, they are also considered masterpieces of military engineering.1

What is not clear to me is why the tribes across the Rhine, who believed they could stop any crossing legions in boats by harrying them during their crossing, didn't employ the same tactics while the bridge was being built.


texts: Why did anti-Chinese riots occur during the Indonesian Reformation of 1998?

texts:
The protests and events in Indonesia in May 1998 led to the fall of the dictator Suharto, the reform of Indonesian government and political system, and a more liberal and democratic era.

During the same time, massive anti-Chinese riots (some even call them pogroms) occured in Jakarta and some other cities, whereby there were a lot of mass violence directed against Indonesian Chinese during the protest.

What were the causes of these racial riots? How could the mass be incited to do this? Is there any particular reason why protests about the economy, the political system, and the lack of freedom/democracy led to a mass violence against a minority group?


texts: Purpose of Guinea in British monetary history

texts:
I read about Guinea itself, how it was made, but I don't really understand why would anybody keep a money worth 5% more than an existing denomination like Pound.

I can accept the 1/20 and 1/12 concept even though it is not as comfortable as the decimal system, but 21/20, furthermore because of the gold content the value of the coin wasn't fixed in all time, but in 1680's it's worth moved away from Pound, and it was replaced by Sovereign in the recoinage of 1816.

I don't really understand the reasons why the empire kept it for over a century?

Personally for me it looks messy without a central concept how a monetary system should be regulated within the empire. Maybe there are good reasons keeping it, but I don't see them.

UPDATE

To make my point more clear: I see a similar pattern in Hungary, when we introduced a .500 fine silver coin in 1993-1994 after collapsion of socialism into circulation with 200 HUF face value, shortly because of silver content it became more valuable, so people just collected them and kept it as more inflation proof money, it actually revoked itself from circulation and it was officially revoked by the government too. This was a clear failure of issue a different based money, and both people and government corrected the mistake naturally, why didn't this happen in British Empire for over 100 years? I can say the value distortion was smaller between Silver and Gold price than Silver and fiat money. But this system in the British empire seems deliberately kept up for some reason.


texts: Couldn't Japan have solved the problem of drifting at sea?

texts:
The Edo period shogunate received annual tributes from local clans, on the order of the rice to feed a thousand people. The sengokubune ships used on this route were suited for calm inland waters, with high sterns, an unsealed deck, no keel, one square sail on one mast, and a huge rudder and tiller. They were more economical for cargo than Red Seal-type ships, but could not safely perform ocean crossings.

Unfortunately, sailing to Edo along the coast of Honshu from either direction requires rounding a cape in the open ocean. In adverse conditions, the giant rudder was prone to break, listing the ship and admitting water to the hold. For stability the crew would then cut down the mast and sometimes jettison their cargo of food. This left the crew completely unable to control the ship and at great risk.  Only a few hyoryumin drifters survived, some even reaching North America.

The risk of drifting was well known (90 episodes were listed by Arakawa Hidetoshi). For clans or ship owners, drifting meant the loss of a vessel, a cargo, and a crew. I'd have anticipated builders to adopt design changes to reduce the risk, but they may not have; the disasters kept happening for centuries.

Why did the sengokubune continue in use? Were the lost ships insured? Were the additional costs of keels, lower sterns, or watertight decks really prohibitive?

Sources: Katherine Plummer's The Shogun's Reluctant Ambassadors and marinemodelartist.com.


texts: Why are most late medieval fencing manuals German?

texts:
Not only is the German school dominating modern European martial arts, but almost everyone who talks about late medieval fencing refers to German fencing manuals as the primary source.

Why are German fencing manuals the most well-known today? The Italian states were also well developed by that time, and Spain and France were also famous for their well-trained armies and skilled swashbucklers. However, today even martial artists form those countries refer mostly to the German manuals and use German technical terms, instead of their own.

What contributed to the German school of fencing to become so dominant? Was it also dominant in its own time (Germans were used in a lot of armies as mercenaries), or is the major cause that just more books have been written (Germans did invent the printing press after all) or more books survived?


texts: Did the people who jumped from the World Trade Center during 9/11 lose their life insurance policy due to committing suicide?

texts: I know there is a contestability period in which the insurance company can deny a claim for suicide, and that it’s relatively short, but I’ve been wondering if anyone who jumped, was still in that period and was denied?


texts: What is the origin of Americans sometimes refering to the Second World War "the Good War"?

texts:
WWII has gone down in American popular memory as "the Good War" (later criticized by authors like Studs Terkel, etc.).
But who coined this term? I don't mean the concept, which refers to the idea of "just war," but the particular term.
Was it already used in wartime media and propaganda? Or was it coined later as a contrast to the Cold War, Korean War, or Vietnam?
I've searched academic articles on the subject but they take the term for granted, never addressing its origins.


texts: Venezuelan crisis of 1902–03: Why is there a Russian flag on the cover of the prominent newspaper 'Le Petit Parisien'?

texts:
The Venezuelan crisis of 1902–03[a] was a naval blockade from December 1902 to February 1903 imposed against Venezuela by Britain, Germany and Italy over President Cipriano Castro's refusal to pay foreign debts and damages suffered by European citizens in the Venezuelan civil war.

The most famous depiction of the crisis were featured in the newspaper 'Le Petit Parisien'. My eyes caught the sight of the Russian flag. I couldn't find any information about this strange detail. Could someone please shed light on this? Thank you.


texts: How often did kings give land to their sons?

texts:
During the middle ages, how often did kings give land for their sons to govern? In particular sons who were not heirs or even far in the line of succession.

If they did give land would it be small like a barony or would they give lordships and duchies as well?

The question arises from the thought that it would be easier for landed sons to create a succession crisis upon the death of their father, or even during his reign.

if the question is too broad consider answering for one of the following specific kingdoms:

England, France, Norway, Hungary, Leon, Alba (Scotland), Poland, Denmark.


texts: Was there a steam locomotive valve gear linked to pistons both in front of and behind the driving wheels, connected to the same set of linking rods?

texts:
Has there existed any steam locomotive with a valve gear such that there are pistons both in front of and behind the driving wheels, connected to the same set of linking rods?
This would result in four total pistons per set of driving wheels. The front and rear pistons would alternate pushing and pulling in sequence. I imagine this might simplify valve gear function dramatically.
The Wikipedia entry on valve gears doesn't mention any such system, and the locomotive wiki's entry on the subject is even worse, not mentioning any types at all.
This article details some additional, older valve gears, but none of them resemble the type I was thinking of railwaywondersoftheworld
If such a valve gear has existed, where can I learn more about it? If not, is there a reason such a valve gear would be infeasible?


texts:
Some time ago I read in a few second hand articles, that Celtic druids went to Greece to teach and study. I don't remember the sources and I couldn't find the sources on a Google search.

Are there any trustworthy sources that would support this? Alternatively, are there any sources of other traveling scholars in ancient times?


texts: What regions worldwide have not been conquered or colonized by nations recursively located in land once ruled by someone born in Belgium?

texts:
I'm working on an alternate history book based on historical events. Basically, the group of tribes from the Roman era that are grouped under the Belgae group managed to avoid being conquered by the Romans, remained a nation during the Germanic invasions at the end of the Roman Empire and then started forming a global empire. Basically, take the below map (courtesy of Wikipedia), but everything between the English Channel, Paris, the Rhine and the Moselle is not part of the Franchi, but part of this Belgae nation:

After this time, any time someone born in an area part of Belgium at the time of birth went on to conquer another region in our timeline, that region would remain a part of Belgium permanently and would never be conquered again by any other nation, nor would any rebellions or other nations rise in that area.

Now, my knowledge of historical events is not that good, but I did find that the Merovingian dynasty and the Carolingian Dynasty were born right in the middle of that region, which means that Belgium would rather quickly have control over France and the Holy Roman Empire. Add to that the Reconquista, the invasion of England by Normandy and the Crusades. From what I can tell, most of Western and Central Europe would have been part of Belgium by the 1400s. This means that all colonies also would have become part of Belgium.

I'm not sure how much of the world would be part of the Belgian Empire. That is the biggest blind spot in the story right now: what areas were not conquered or colonized by a power recursively located in land once ruled by someone who was born in the Belgae tribe area? From what I can find, China, Japan and Korea are the most prominent in this category. I'm not sure about Russia: it has been invaded multiple times, but as far as I know, none of those invasions had any real success, with Russia fighting a war of attrition and retreat until the invaders were forced to pull back.

I see that many people among you comment on how certain aspects of my question are extremely unlikely, like the fact that noone revolts against the Belgians, or that the Belgians wouldn't work like that because they don't share an identity, or that this is a question about alternate history and thus shouldn't belong here.

About the alternate history part: I'm not asking about alternate history. I'm asking about how the actual history of our world goes so I can build a better backstory to my book, because many of the events in our world also happen in the book, just with different countries. For example, the Crusades still happen. So do the Colonial periods, the Mongol Horde and the Viking invasions. the only difference with out world is that some of the later crusades to reconquer lost holy land don't happen, the Colonies don't become independent and the invasions fail at the border of the Belgian empire.

The rebellions and uprisings: I worded that badly. They do happen, but they're struck down rather fast. There are no sucessful rebellions or uprisings.

Belgium not working like that: In the book, Belgians have a unique feat called Ancestral Guidance (https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/9932/what-consequences-would-ancestral-guidance-have) which gives them an edge over other groups and gives them an identity. This feat is hereditary and rapidly spreads to newly conquered regions, while not going anywhere beyond the border.


texts: Did Napoleon Bonaparte say "Power lies in the essence of power."?

texts:
I used to love to read about Napoleon Bonaparte when I was younger, I read some books and watched documentaries about his life, etc.
I recently started to dig out some old stuff and started remembering quotes and things I liked about him.

There is this quote which I loved and it was tied to an example, yet I couldn't find anything on Wikiquote.

For as I remember he once said:

  Power lies in the essence of power.

For he (Couldn't find this either) used to fake out the number of his army (I think he doubled the numbers or something like that), just to scare the (possible) enemy.


texts: I'm curious to know how the names of African slaves in the US changed from that of traditional names used by their tribes eventually to their modern, (mostly Christian) names. In other words, how did something like Kunta Kinte become say, Kevin King? Was this "christianisation" mandated by their conversion to Christianity? Was it caused due to a disconnect from their native languages and cultures?


texts:
If I'm not mistaken, governors in the thirteen colonies, appointed by the king, had veto power over acts of colonial legislatures.  In 1996, I was living in North Carolina.  At that time NC was the only one among the 50 states in which the governor had no veto power.  In November of that year, NC voters approved a state constitutional amendment giving the governor veto power.  Newspapers mentioned that the last time a governor had veto power in NC was just before the Declaration of Independence.  But I've come across some evidence that in the earliest days of American independence, governors did not have veto power.

What is the history of governors' veto power?


texts: What were the causes of the "Dardanelles" fiasco in World War I

texts:
During World War II, the Allies sent supplies to the Soviet Union via Murmansk/Archangelsk in the north, via Persia and the Caspian Sea in the south, and via the Tran-Siberian railroad.

Why didn't the Allies use these routes in World War I, instead of trying to force a passage through the Turkish straits via the Dardanelles?

Conversely, if the Dardanelles was so key to the Allied war effort, why didn't they send enough troops and ships to do the job instead of making a half-baked effort that was likely to fail?


texts: How has enforcement of the USA-Mexico border changed over time?

texts: My question here is, "How has the enforcement (and attitude) toward the USA-Mexico border changed over time?


texts:
In the Europe, briefly after the appearance of firearm, gun-fired arrows made their appearance, but very soon after, the ball projectiles became standard ammunition used in both cannons and handgonnes and gun-fired arrows disappeared.

As for the Asia, the gun-fired arrows sticked for longer. For example History of Korean cannon mentions cannons firing darts/arrows in 17th century. What advantages does firing an arrow from cannon/gun has over firing a ball? In other words, why would they use it?

[While I am also interested in arrow-rockets, I am not asking about those in this question. What I am asking about is an arrow/dart put inside a firearm/cannon, and fired from it. I welcome any self-study resource recommendation.]


texts: Why and how did the CIA/OSS support non-communist French trade unions after WWII?

texts: Why and how did the CIA/OSS support non-communist French trade unions after the WWII?


texts: Why didn't Germany attack Turkey during WW2?

texts:
Most of us might have heard something about the Geo-strategic position of Turkey. She connects two continents to each other and provides a bridge between the relatively advanced Europe and the resource-rich Middle East. It is also a well known fact that Hitler attacked the Soviets to gain access to the Caucasian oil fields, in addition to his other designs.

Given that, why did Hitler not order the attack of Turkey in order to reach the oil in the Middle East? He would also have struck a mighty blow against the Allies, since most of that area was under Allied control then. Additionally, he could have seized control of the Straits which are vital for Black Sea region, putting additional pressure on Stalin.


texts: Why did Chamberlain remain Prime Minister of Britain until 10 May, 1940?

texts:
WW2 officially began on 1 September 1939, but Churchill did not become Prime Minister until 10 May 1940. Neville Chamberlain, the same leader of appeasement with Hitler, remained Prime Minister all that time.

Why is this? Wasn't some emergency election possible? Didn't the British people recognize how ill-suited Chamberlain would be because of his former appeasement? Why didn't Chamberlain resign much earlier, since his championing of appeasement had clearly failed?

I did read a tiny bit of this on Churchill's Wikipedia page. It said "it became clear that, following failure in Norway, the country had no confidence in Chamberlain's prosecution of the war and so Chamberlain resigned." But it still raises the question as to why a new Prime Minister was not chosen right away in September 1939, or at least some time in that year.

I also noticed that 10 May 1940 is exactly the same date as the German invasion of Benelux and France. And I remembered the Phony War that existed up until that date, IIRC. In other words, the end of the Phony War apparently has something to do with this, but it's hard to see which is the chicken and which is the egg.

Edit: The title was originally, "Why didn't Churchill become Prime Minister some time in 1939?" I still think that question and the current one are practically synonymous, because, well, who else would become PM except Churchill? Why didn't one resign early, AFAIK, is the same as saying why didn't the other step in earlier? I don't know if this really matters or not, but wanted to explain myself anyway.


texts: Did germophobia exist in classical antiquity?

texts:
I know nothing of the cleaning habits of the Greeks, but about Rome Mary Beard (2015) says that doctors knew that going to the public baths with an open wound would likely result in gangrene, so it was known they could be breeding grounds for diseases if people were not careful. Nevertheless there existed public baths, so at least some people had the habit of cleaning themselves, even if these baths were also used to make business.

Now, the Wikipedia article about mysophobia, which is the more technical name of germophobia, states that the term was coined in 1879 to describe people that repeatedly washed their hands, in a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. This was 200 years after bacteria were first observed, in the second half of the 17th century, and way after the Classical Era. But considering that at least in Roman times some people had the habit of taking baths, is it possible that something resembling this kind of disorder could exist in those times, even if not for reasons of bacteria?

(My original objective was to ask this question about every civilization before 1500, but this would of course be too broad to be answered by a single person, and way too broad for this website. So I will restrain the scope of my question to Classical Antiquity, a term that, as I understand it, is used to refer to Greek and Roman civilizations. Also, even though the terms used to describe this condition are modern, the point here is to ask if something that could be described as germophobia existed in this time frame.)


texts: Has there ever been a true kidnapped princess from anywhere in the world?

texts:
I'm not a historian, although hopefully not totally ignorant of history, which perhaps will prove false here. I am a curious consumer of popular culture. Ever since I was young I have played video games, watched movies and seen cartoons where a major plot point is some villain kidnapping the princess. I wonder where this tired story trope actually originated. As I consider world history, I am unable to think of any historical instances where this actually occurred.

I am aware of royals being taken captive as a consequence of battle and then ransomed back to their families, but what I'm not clear on was there ever any instance where the military campaign was always about actually capturing the princess, not just a land grab or strategic maneuver that included the happy circumstance that the conquerors happened to nab a royal for ransom.

The plot to kidnap Princess Anne doesn't count because it totally failed. Same with the plot to rescue Mary Queen of Scots.

If possible, please provide a specific example of a historical incident in which the objective of a campaign or operation was in fact the imprisonment of a princess against her will that succeeded. The answer that closest meets this criteria is the one I'm looking for. Bonus points if the perpetrator of the plot actually attempted to force the princess to marry him. Extra bonus points if this attempt succeeded.


texts: Are there any primary sources on the letter Hulagu wrote to Qutuz?

texts: I was wondering if there are any primary sources on the letter that the Mongol Khan Hulagu wrote to the Mamluk Sultan Qutuz (from Wikipedia: "Hulagu intended to continue southward through Palestine towards Cairo to fight the Mamluks. He sent a threatening letter to the Mamluk Sultan Qutuz in Cairo. He demanded that Qutuz open Cairo or it would be destroyed like Baghdad.") Everywhere I looked they didn't give a concrete source, is there maybe the letter preserved or maybe a transcript written during that time? Thanks.


texts: Were Serbs and Croats one people / tribe in the past? If not, why do they speak the same language?

texts:
Were Croats and Serbs one people that were later (politically) divided, or two unrelated peoples that came in the same area and (linguistically) merged?
Before, I thought that Serbs and Croats were, in the near past, one people of which some adopted Catholic religion (now called Croats) and some Orthodox (now called Serbs). I still think that this is the case of Serbs and Bosnians: Bosnians are Serbs converted into Islam under Turkish rule, so no wonder they speak (almost) the same language. Hindi and Urdu is another example of such division.
The more I read, the more I feel Serbs and Croats are unrelated Slavic tribes which came to Balkans separately and never had shared history or culture. Not one people divided, but rather two unrelated peoples culturally and linguistically merged, as they happened to settle next to each other. Is this true?
And if they don't share (recent) common ancestry, how come they speak (nearly) the same language? I guess their unrelated ancestors spoke different (Slavic) languages. Have Croats adopted the Serbian language? Or vice versa?
I don't mean 19th century agreements of unification of the Serb-Croatian language, I mean why did they speak such similar languages in the first place long before the 19th century?


texts: When did the Roman Empire devalue currency?

texts:
I had read some years ago an article describing the decision of an emperor to deal with the empire's economic troubles be devaluating the currency. The devaluation occured by mixing silver with not so precious metals. That policy was continued by the successor emperors but in the end the only thing they managed to achieve was to cause a tremendous inflation. I am trying to find out infos about this incident, the time span in which it happened and the emperor that initiated it.
Any info or links to books about this policy will be most welcome


texts: Was there a direct telephone line between Stalin and Hitler during the war?

texts:
In one Soviet film I had seen a Soviet officer who was in Hitler's bunker tasked with maintenance of a telephone line between the bunker and the Soviet command.

But this was about the final stages of the war. I wonder whether something similar was undertaken earlier.


texts:
The second world war was among other things a war in resources and economy. So it got me wondering, what were the prices for fighter planes used? With some searching I count not find a satisfying answer.

I am aware that these prices are very much a ball park answer. Not only different currencies, but production run length, different versions and probably some propaganda as well. Might be better comparable in man-hours to build?

Some I can find, others not so much, in particular I would like to know the price for all these planes and a way to compare these prices:

UK

Hawker Hurricane
Supermarine Spitfire (£12,604 Estonian order for 12 Spitfires in 1939)

USA

Bell P-39 Airacobra (US$50,666 in 1944)
North American P-51 Mustang (US$50,985 in 1945)

France

Dewoitine D.520

Italy

Macchi C.200

Japan

Mitsubishi A6M Zero
Kawasaki Ki-61

USSR

Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3
Yakovlev Yak-1
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3

Germany

Messerschmitt Bf 109
Focke-Wulf Fw 190

I am aware that I could grow this list a lot: WW2 aircraft, and that this might not even be possible to compare these aircraft...


texts: Has feudalism been a programmed event for nations in the past?

texts:
I can't help but notice that when a kingdom/empire/nation reaches a certain level of development, they seem to change their administration to feudalism. Europe, Japan and China are examples of what I am saying. It seems like feudalism is a "programmed event".

Has there been a reason for this or is it just coincidence?

PS. I, by no means, intend to disparage any nations in my question.


texts: Did princess Maria von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen -Belgian king Albert's mother- have a child out of wedlock?

texts:
Maria Luise von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in German. She was married to prince Philip of Belgium and was the mother of king Albert I.

Just one source and no other more -Wikipedia in Spanish - claims that she, in her youth, had a child out of wedlock, whose father was Pierre Antoine Lacouture d'Orleans, prince d'Orleans.

This gentleman and all the others mentioned in the article can not be found anywhere at all on the Internet.These personages are: her purported son, Louise Anton de Lacouture de Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen y de Orleans; his wife, Marie Rockefeller Spelman, an alleged John Rockefeller's daughter, and her present-day descendant Pierre Lacouture Rockefeller de Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen y Murat, 9th prince of Murat. Some of their names and titles are in Spanish, the language used in the article. No other language-version of Wikipedia deals with this topic.

Chances are the article is a hoax. Please do not advise me to get in touch with Wikipedia.

The question is simple. No ambiguity, no vagueness.

I couldn't add the link, but it works.
In any case it is:https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_de_Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

enter link description here


texts: Has there been evidence of ancient Chinese exploration of Australia? Specifically, up through the Middle Ages, before there was extensive contact with Europeans?