texts: Proportion of population that works in agriculture (1000 - today)

texts:
I wonder what was the proportion of people that worked in agriculture (growing food and raising livestock, not processing food in a factory plant) throughout the past centuries in Europe and also, to compare, in North America.

I imagine that it didn't change much throughout the Dark ages and decreased suddenly as industrial production took over, so I'm especially interested in statistics at that period of time.


texts: Did the Axis use Villa Cisneros during WW2 for contact with South America?

texts:
I have read that a German U-boat refueling at Villa Cisneros was attacked and sunk. I have also read that After Germany Invaded Russia in 1941 a Japanese technical mission returning to Japan was flown to Rio de Janiro via Vila Cisneros on the Atlantic coast. According to a book The "Nazi Menace" in Argentina, 1931-1947 By Ronald C. Newton, A German General was flown to Argentina to organise former crew members of the Graff Spee who escaped captivity in Uruguay into building an airstrip at Cordoba for receiving long range flights from Germany.

Prior to WW2 and up until Brazil joined the Alliance against Germany in 1943, vila Cisneros was a regular waypoint for trans-Atlantic flights by the Italian airline LATI.

Please can anybody enlarge upon this issue and provide any sources for further reading?

What role did Vila Cisneros play in the later half of WW2?

LATI carried mail


texts: William Penn and the Frame of Government of Pennsylvania

texts: William Penn wrote three different frames of government documents. All three are different, so therefore which one do we go by? How do we read them? And which one is the final document that PA uses?


texts: GDP for World Powers during the Napoleonic Era?

texts:
What was the GDP for the strongest world Powers during the Napoleonic Era? Powers like United Kingdom, France, Prussia, Russia, Austria, Holland, Spain, Denmark, United States, China, Ottoman Empire and the Maratha Confederacy?

My assumption is that United Kingdom had the largest economy in the world but I like some data to justify this statement.


texts: What Was the Constitutional Basis that Made Pompey "Consul Without Colleague" for 52BC

texts:
From my understanding, the Senate had no prerogative in naming a consul. At best they could appoint an interrex among themselves. What was the constitutional basis that enabled the Senate to appoint Pompey sole consul of the year 52 BC?

At the minimum, wouldn't a vote of Comitia Centuriata be required to ratify Pompey's legal status?


texts:
I am currently reading George Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow, which says George Washington was an even 6 feet (183cm) tall:

  It is commonly said that Washington stood six foot two or three, an estimate that gained currency after a doctor measured his corpse at six feet three and a half inches. ... There is no need for any guesswork. Before the Revolutionary War, Washington ordered clothes from London each year and had to describe his measurements with great accuracy. In a 1761 letter, he informed his remote taylor that "my stature is six feet, otherwise rather slender than corpulent," and he never deviated from that formula. Obviously Washington couldn't afford to tell a fib about his height to his tailor. One can only surmise that when the doctor measured his cadaver, his toes were pointing outward, padding his height by several inches compared with his everyday stature. (page 29).

But a few months ago I read His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis, which contradicts this, saying Washington was at least 6'2" (188cm):

  His coats, shirts, pants, and shoes were all ordered from a London tailor, but they invariably did not fit. He complained that "my Cloaths have never fitted me well," but the reason for the persistent problem was that the instructions he customarily gave his tailor were misleading. For example, when ordering an overcoat he directed the tailor to "make it to fit a person Six feet high and proportionally made, & you cannot go much amiss." But Washington was at least two inches taller than six feet and disproportionately made, with very broad shoulders and huge hips. (chapter 2)

The two historians clearly use some of the same evidence (orders to London), but draw distinctly different conclusions.

What evidence do we have to support either the claim that George Washington was 6'0" (183cm), or 6'2"-6'3" (188-191cm) in height?  I'm assuming there is no consensus among historians, so I'm interested in an overview of the main points in favor of both views.


texts: Why did Béla III of Hungary seized the casket containing the relics of Saint Ivan of Rila?

texts:
Béla III was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1172 and 1196, however he had some difficulties getting recognition of his title.1.

Saint Ivan of Rila was born app. 876 a.c. He was a contemporary of the reign of emperor Boris I, his sons Vladimir (Rassate) and tsar Simeon I The Great and the son of the latter - tsar Peter I.

Now,

  ...Taking advantage of the emerging anarchy in the Byzantine Empire, Béla advanced as far as Niš and Sardica in the first half of 1183.2 In Sardica, he seized the casket containing the relics of Saint Ivan of Rila, and ordered it "to be transported with great honors to his land and to be laid down with honor in the church"3 of Esztergom, according to the saint's Life from the Sofia Prologue...

The relics were returned back after three years.

Why would the relics of a local saint be of any use to Béla III, could they be used as a form of legitimation of his title, having in mind that the Bulgarian and Hungarian dynasty blood lines at that time were connected?

Could Saint Ivan of Rila be heir of emperor Boris I?

1. Although the Hungarian prelates and lords unanimously proclaimed Béla king, Lucas, Archbishop of Esztergom opposed his coronation.

2. Curta 2006, pp. 334–335.

3. Life of John of Rila from the Stishen (Sofia) Prologue, p. 266.


texts: What is known about the origins of the "western given-name-first-surname-last system"?

texts:
I refer to the custom or "system" of having one's given name first and family name/surname last. I believe this is widely used in the west, with the exception of Hungary (and perhaps a few other Western communities).

This custom or "system" is in contrast to other naming systems, such as the "eastern system" (in which the order is reversed, used in China and the other Confucian societies), patronymics (e.g. Iceland), matronymics, and mononymics.

I apologize if I do not know the precise term for this; I have read the Wikipedia article "Personal Name" but cannot find much other information on this. (See also this other closed question where I provided a little more context.)

Below is just some of my uninformed speculation:

I notice for example that North Indian names follow this "western system". This is in contrast to some parts of South India which uses a form of patronymy.

Might there then be any relation between the "western naming system" and the Indo-Europeans/Aryans? Or is this just a coincidence?


texts: Has the "lion dormant" ever been used in history?

texts: I was looking at the different attitudes of heraldic lions and wondering if any historical families really used a lion dormant in their coats of arms. House Grandison is of course fine and dandy. But has the lion dormant really occurred in history? And for what reasons would a family choose a sleeping lion as opposed to the lion rampant?


texts: What is this Victorian era British uniform?

texts:
Could someone help me identify this British Victorian period uniform? Is it possible to know the regiment and rank from the photo? (No name, no date, but certainly taken in the 1880s-1890s)
Thanking you in advance,
Rod Craig


texts: Were ancient (Greek) battles fought like duels between heroes?

texts:
In dramas on TV and film we are often shown a "hero" standing in front of the army, fighting alone against a "villain". Their soldier comrades don't help out much, as we would expect them to do in modern warfare.

Did armies in the ancient world, and particularly in ancient Greece, actually stand off and allow the the bravest individuals to engage in single-combat against each other? I know we hear of this in Homer (particularly in the Iliad), and the Wikipedia page on single combat in antiquity has a few examples, but how common would it have been in reality?


texts: Were there regionalist/independentist movements or feelings in mid-19th century Spain?

texts:
I've become aware that, to a degree, Spain like France or Germany or even the modern USA, is a collection of autonomous bodies who agree to act as a single nation for federal purposes (this may be a gross oversimplification, but is stated in effort to clarify my question). However, their autonomous bodies are culturally separate (as opposed to perhaps arbitrary borders in the US). Historically the Iberian Peninsula was even home to several independent kingdoms/states (Asturia, Navarra, Gallecia, Aragon, et cetera).

In the mid-19th century (1840-1870, roughly) did those regional identifiers exist the way they do now/did then? Would an Imperial Spanish citizen consider themselves Gallecian, Aragonese, Castillian, Leonese, et cetera, or would they simply be Spanish?


texts: Did ancient/medieval armies have music/chants to march to?

texts: During battles or marching into battles did armies (like the Spartan or Eastern European armies) have music/chants to march to?


texts: Do detailed records exist for artillery usage by the Nazi military in 1945?

texts: Allegedly the German logistical system had broken down by 1945. Yet they still fought many tough battles. I would like to test these claims by looking at monthly shell tonnages in 1945. I believe that they were consuming around 2 million tons monthly most of the war.


texts: Why did the people of Nantwich (Cheshire) wear holly to celebrate Parliament's victory there during the English Civil War?

texts:
The Battle of Nantwich (1644) during the English Civil War led to the lifting of the siege of the town by Royalist forces. In celebration,

  After the siege was lifted, in January 1644, the local people marked
  the event in subsequent years by wearing sprigs of holly in their hats
  or on their clothing.

This celebration was known as Holly Holy Day and the same source says that "the practice faded out after a time" (suggesting it went on for at least several years), but there is no explanation here as to why holly was worn. Googling has turned up nothing (though some promising links were dead).

The choice of holly, with it's association with Jesus and the crown of thorns seems a strange one given the Puritan attitude to idolatry (which pre-dates the Civil War). Already, by the end of 1644, Parliament was beginning a clamp down on Christmas and in 1645 the Directory of Worship railed against

  ‘Festival Days, vulgarly called Holy Days, having no warrant in the
  Word of God, are not to be continued’

Further, the could the celebration really have continued in the years following the battle if holly was chosen for religious reasons? At Christmas in 1647, for example, a display of holly at a public water conduit led to a confrontation with soldiers of the Lord Mayor who had ordered the holly removed.

I am thinking that there was probably another reason for using holly in Nantwich. Among the possibilities might be:

In heraldry, holly is used to represent truth.
Holly can represent purity.
Pre-Christian folklore relating to holly's protective qualities (seems the least likely).

Are any of the above the reason why the people of Nantwich wore holly to celebrate Parliament's victory? Or was there another reason (even a religious one)?

Note: Holly Holy Day in Nantwich was revived in 1972


texts: Was the "anti-suffragist Beresford Hope" related to Alexander Beresford Hope?

texts:
From a bit of UK suffragette history/fight:

The election of Lady Sandhurst was instantly challenged by the anti-suffragist Beresford Hope, whom Lady Sandhurst had defeated. Beresford Hope v. Sandhurst reached court on 18 March 1889 and went to appeal in May of that year [...]

Is this "anti-suffragist Beresford Hope" related to Alexander Beresford Hope? It couldn't have been him because ABH died in 1887 so maybe a descendant or some relative... Does anyone know the details as whom the "anti-suffragist Beresford Hope" was?


texts: Is Russia a direct successor of the USSR? Could the USSR be considered to continue existing under a different name?

texts:
Consider this: before WWII, France controlled a vast number of colonies around the globe. They have since lost most of their territory, however their official name remains as French Republic and they're considered to be the same state as they were before.

Now let's take the situation in the USSR: in 1991 the 12 Soviet Republics split up and formed independent states, with Russia becoming the successor state to the USSR. Does this mean that the USSR merely changed it's name and lost a few territories? Or did the USSR completely cease to exist, while brand new states were created in it's territory?

I'm looking for a legal/historical answer, not a subjective one.


texts: The boundary between New York and Quebec before the seven years' war of 1756‒1763

texts:
This is related to this earlier question, which deals with events after the war.

Before the Seven Years' War of 1756‒1763, if I understand correctly, Quebec was ruled by France. In that war, Britain conquered Quebec, which was thereafter ruled by Britain. After the war, the boundary between New York and Quebec could be decided by British authorities.

Was there an agreed boundary before the war? Did it include a line at 45 degrees north latitude?


texts: How long did it take for mail to get to London from New York in 1919?

texts: In an essay I am working on, I am writing letters between two sisters. One lived in New York and the other lived in London during the time of 1919. I need to figure out the amount of time it took for a letter to be sent from New York and arrive in London, and the approximate time it would take for the letter to be received and a reply sent back to New York in that time period, so I can get somewhat accurate dates for the letters. Thank you to all who answer.


texts: How many people died in the nazi concentration camps and death trains and marches?

texts:
My 11-y. daughter is making a year-schoolwork about children in WWII. And she wanted to know how many people were destroyed by the nazi camp system. At first I thought she is searching incorrectly and finds meaningless numbers only, but she proposed to find the number myself... And I was astonished, that I really cannot find the number.

There is a number of Jews shot or killed by gas (2.7 mln), a number of Polish victims in camps in Poland (1.2mln), Soviet soldiers killed in these Poland camps (800t), but obviously, if we want to find the whole numbers, these part ones are useless, for they overlap.

The only general number I found was 3.1-3.2 mln victims of extermination camps, but this is only about camps that were named extermination camps. Other camps or death trains or marches killed people in great numbers, too, and only smaller part of total 45000 camps were extermination ones. And 3.1mln is far less than the number of victims in 8 greatest camps in Poland only.

Also, I see no numbers for death trains and marches. And after we visited the museums of Teresin, we know, that they swallowed a significant fraction of the total number of victims. And I think, that these transports that killed people between camps, should be counted in the whole number.

Of course, the transports to camps were deadly, too (my granduncle was in one of such, and told about no-food regime for weeks), but I am afraid it is not possible to count their victims.

Do you know about some general number, either exact or at least some sensible estimation? If trains and marches cannot be covered, then at least all camps' victims number.


texts: Was there any new military innovation during the Siege of Malta?

texts:
In the Siege of Malta, the Knights Hospitaller defended the island despite being heavily outnumbered by the invading Ottoman troops. Malta was such a small island, the Turks were the masters of the Mediterranean at the time and the Knights were outnumbered, so this battle became well-known throughout Europe.

Did the knights employ any notable new tactics/strategy during this defense that contributed to their success? Something creative that got imitated afterwards?

Or was their success mainly caused by "normal" factors such as the strength of the fortification or mistakes from the Ottomans?


texts: Stories from history of mercenaries who didn't get paid

texts:
I'm doing a talk on freelancing.  It's a dirty secret that sometimes hired guns don't get paid.

I'd like to de-personalize it by telling a couple short historical stories of mercenaries who didn't get paid; hopefully with a "come-upance" at the end; even if the mercs weren't made whole.  The moral of telling these story is "protect your assets until you're paid".

Thoughts?  Links?  Stories?  Thanks!


texts: Have there ever been any instances of complete (or almost) world peace?

texts: I'm now 55, and although I've never lived through a World War, there have been numerous major conflicts in my lifetime - Cold War, 'troubles' in Northern Ireland, Gulf War 1 and 2. Has there ever been a time when things were kind of peaceful?


texts: In the Soviet Union, why was the Cheka renamed so many times?

texts:
The Cheka was the secret police of the USSR. Wikipedia maintains a list of the Cheka and its subsequent renamings:

1917: Cheka
1922: GPU
1923: OGPU
1934: NKVD
1941: NKGB
1941: NKVD (again)
1943: NKGB (again)
1946: MGB
1954: KGB

It stops at KGB in 1954. This is roughly when Khrushchev came to power. The renamings start in 1922. Though Lenin had not died yet, 1922 - 1954 is roughly the era of Stalin. So I wonder, does this have anything to do with Stalin's rise to power or control via the Chekists? If so, how? How could renaming accomplish this or serve some other purpose? Were there really significant re-organizations each time it was renamed?


texts: What was the alcoholic beverage of choice for British soldiers during WW2?

texts: The British army has throughout history plied soldiers with rum and grog to boost morale and quiet dissent. Did this policy continue into WW2, and if so, what was the drink supplied by the state?


texts: Did cows in Medieval times have calves in spring or all year round?

texts:
I'm a Dairy Educator and want to learn about milking and cows in Medieval Times. I suspect that cows had calves only in spring, like most livestock.
Am I correct?

Would Medieval people drink the milk or just make cheese and / or butter?

Who would drink it if they did? Peasants? Children? The sick?


texts: Why did France support the Confederacy in the Civil War?

texts: In the US Civil War, I've learned that France supported the south. If they had already banned slavery, why would they support the party fighting to keep it? Did they have any diplomatic or political reasons for doing so?


texts: How did the Romans handle "fatbergs" in their sewage system?

texts:
In Britain, another "fatberg" has caused trouble in the sewage system, this time in Birmingham.
If this happens when we have modern technology and tools, and is pretty complicated to get rid of - how did the Romans handle the problem with their quite much more primitive technology?


texts: During the Soviet era, were people charged with crimes able to hire lawyers of their own?

texts: Recently, I watched HBO's mini-series Chernobyl where the accused were brought for justice. But I was wondering why there was no lawyer for them.


texts: When did banks start giving interest to depositors?

texts:
I was on Wikipedia on Friday and I cant remember how I got to this page but there was a Jewish American banker from Pren, Lithuania, born in 1869, died in 1939 in New York, whose last name began with an "S" who introduced the concept of a bank account that gave the owner interest. My history and cookies delete are set to delete every session.

Who is this man?


texts: Why did Civil War officers tell their men to "aim low"?

texts:
I'm listening to Gettysburg by Stephen W. Sears and the officers on both sides seem to always exhort their men to "aim low".  For instance, General John Gibbon told his 2nd Division infantry:

  Do not hurry, men, and fire too fast—let them come up close before you fire, and then aim low, and steadily.—Gettysburg, p. 436

This was on July 3 as Pickett's division approached Cemetery Ridge.

There seem to be a number of variations on the command, such as "fire at their feet", but it always seems to be intended to correct the problem of overshooting rather than undershooting.  It makes sense to me that artillery fire could be more effective if the rounds bounded across the ground (and at Gettysburg the Southern gunners tended to fire ineffectually over the heads of the Union line).  But I would have assumed the best musket and rifle shots would have been aimed slightly high to account for a ballistic trajectory.  This might have been a better question for the late Firearms.SE, but what was it about Civil War weaponry that caused trained soldiers to need reminding to aim low?


texts: How were wars financed under Islamic empires?

texts:
A related question is this thread, where the subject in question were banks, and how they operated and profited under Islamic rule.

In Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), charging interest on loans is considered usury and is illegal. How did Islamic states fund their armies to wage war? Was it all plunder as you conquer or did the states take foreign loans and adhere to the interest?

I am looking for a broad range of how different Islamic empires operated their war finances, and maybe how it evolved over time. Basically everything from the inception of Islam to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.


texts: Is there evidence of extensive Viking presence in North America?

texts:
The Vikings  appear to have had two long-lasting communities in Greenland, and a site has been found at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland Canada.

But is there any solid evidence that the Vikings had a more extensive presence in pre-Columbian North America?


texts: Could ancient Egyptians have done origami with papyrus?

texts:
Ancient Egyptians used papyrus as writing stationery. However, could one use papyrus for origami?

I couldn't find any resources for research...

Thanks!


texts: Why do China and India have such huge populations?

texts: Assuming growth is constant in all locations (which I know it's not), I don't see why China and India are so populous. Europe has a slightly larger land area than China, but it's population is practically double that of Europe. India's population density is even worse. What's the reason?


texts:
The song, "World Turned Upside Down" by Leon Rosselson, says:

  The sin of property
  We do disdain
  No one has any right to buy and sell
  The earth for private gain

Does this mean that the Diggers viewed property as sinful? If so, did they base this view at all upon the bible?


texts: The use of language is one of the most conspicuous and diagnostic traits that distinguish Homo sapiens from other species. Unlike writing, spoken language leaves no trace.Can we get a direct method in trying to decipher the origins of language?


texts: When did the Commonwealth of England start being considered a Republic?

texts: For instance, it was under the absolute rule of a person (Cromwell), and after his death the rule is passed to his son. When was it classified as a republic, as opposed to a monarchy? Was that before, during, or after Cromwell?


texts: What happened to all the nuclear material being smuggled after the fall of the USSR?

texts:
I'm currently on my lunch break and deep in the Wikipedia hole which brought me to this article that details thwarted nuclear smuggling incidents in 1993/6. Many of the incidents involve elements that would not be useful for the production of a nuclear/dirty weapon but a minority of them involve significant quantities of Plutonium/enriched Uranium.

Working on the assumption that only a fraction of these smuggling attempts were busted, this suggests that quite a large amount of material (potentially enough for a nuclear warhead and certainly enough to make a dirty bomb) probably made its way in to the wrong hands. I'm not aware of any incidents of nuclear terrorism since then so I suppose my question is, who was buying it and why hasn't it turned up since?


texts: By mid-1945, was Japan capable of maintaining the war even in the absence of further direct American attacks?

texts:
The USA went to a great effort to defeat Japan, but do historians regard it as necessary?

For example if the USA had just kept the naval action going to the extent of cutting of all shipping to Japan. Given the state that Japan was in by this time, is it thought that Japan could become a real threat again? If so, how long?

Or does historians believe Japan would have collapsed of its own accord and hence surrender?


texts: How long to travel from Ireland or England in 1680 to Plymouth in the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

texts: I'm writing a historical fiction romance novel and I'm trying to gain a perspective of the travel times. The story is set in 1692, but the hero and his family arrived around 1680 from Ireland.


texts: How is fact checking and referencing done in historical studies?

texts:
Hello I am new to this subject on a serious basis, and my first question, or set of questions, isn't actually a history question itself, but more of a question of the protocol for fact checking in the process of studying history.
So firstly, suppose I have read an account of a particular event X from a source Y, in as much as yes they will have referenced this in the way we are all familiar with, this still doesn't give me any assurances that those sources are not also false in a manner congruent to the manner for which the citation I have just read is false, so what infrastructure and or institution is assigned the role of policing and regulating the authenticity of publications online, and if I do need to purchase a hard copy of a text, what assurance that too has entirely factual content?
Secondly, in the cases for which a historical account has particulars that are still not known, what is the protocol for declaring this in  something we write in a historical account and or what institution is assigned the role of ensuring or authenticating publishers adhere to this protocol?


texts: What is a good book with authoritative histories of individual RAF bases?

texts:
I write a lot about RAF radar systems. It is common to refer to the base where it was first built, like RAF Bard Hill. However, I find it very difficult to find anything about Bard Hill, what does exist on the web is highly fractured.

Does anyone know of a good source for such information? I'm not looking for too much detail, something more along the lines of a "who's who in the RAF bases", perhaps a paragraph or two per base, with the main criterion being completeness in terms of all the bases being there.


texts: Did the Greeks win the battle of Salamis because their rowers were "free"?

texts:
While I was at university in the late 1970s, I was told by a faculty advisor that the Greek rowers at the Battle of Salamis were given cushions that greatly increased their comfort and efficiency (and the Persians were not). This, in turn, would have derived from the fact that the Greek rowers were "free" men, while the Persian rowers were galley slaves.

Much has been made in history books about how the Greeks outmanoeuvred the Persians in the narrow straits around Salamis. Could the truth be more prosaic, that the Greeks simply out-rowed the Persians? And would this have stemmed from the fact that the Greek rowers were free, were generally treated better than their Persian counterparts, and were basically more motivated to win?


texts: Historical examples of advanced societies that abruptly abandoned or changed religions?

texts:
Acknowledging that society and culture are broadly influenced by religion; understanding that a society and the religion of that society are frequently inextricably connected; is there such a thing as an extinction event for a religion?  Are there any examples of that type of wholesale abandonment of religion? What causes a society to abandon it's own religion (for another religion or for secularism)?

This question does not concern a gradual reduction in belief, but only an abrupt (no longer than one year) shift by the majority of the group.

The following are possible reasons:

Exposure to another culture
Advances in science/technology
Natural (Environmental) disasters
Political change in government

Historical examples are needed to confirm or refute these suppositions.


texts: How long was the overland trip between St. Petersburg and Okhotsk?

texts: The Imperial supply chain for Russian America went over land through Okhotsk. Officials communicating with the various headquarters in St. Petersburg traveled there by way of Iakutsk and Irkutsk. For the transit of goods or persons, how long did this trip take?


texts: How many times was Vaclav Havel under arrest and under what - presumably trumped up charges - was he indicted?

texts:
Vaclav Havel, was one of the leading figures of the Velvet revolution that toppled the Czech communist government.

He was arrested multiple times by the regime, the longest being for four years. The article doesn't make clear what he was charged with and one suspects that they are merely trumped up charges to get rid of a trouble-maker. It's not the first time that governments have done this.

Q. How many times was he arrested and under what charges?


texts: What was George Washington's opinion on having a city named after him?

texts:
Washington D.C. was chosen as the capital and named while the first president was still alive.

According to Wikipedia,

  A new federal city was then constructed on the north bank of the
  Potomac, to the east of Georgetown. On September 9, 1791, the three
  commissioners overseeing the capital's construction named the city in
  honor of President Washington.

This happened while George Washington was in his first term of office. (April 30th, 1789 through March 4th, 1793)

What did he say about that honor of having a national capital named after him?

Please provide quotes from original sources if you can.


texts: Was the ancient Roman King ( i.e. rex) elected for eight years?

texts:
This is an outgrowth of the discussion here. The rex was indeed elected (or perhaps acclaimed would be better term) by the people at the suggestion of the Senate, as far as I recall but I do not remember term limits - perhaps I am missing something?

UPDATE: Anixx has kindly provided the source for the eponymous hypothesis in his answer below. In my opinion, if that is all the evidence that can be adduced in favour of this hypothesis, then it can be very safely dismissed, for the following reasons:

It is not clear where did the number 8 come from to begin with. Why assume a term of 8 years and not 7 or 9? Since there are no references to ancient literary or epigraphic sources in the hypothesis, any guess seems to be just as good.
Rome had 7 kings whose reigns lasted 38, 42, 32, 24, 38, 44, 38 and 24 years plus minus 1 year, depending how one counts). Three of the numbers (24,24,32) fit the hypothesis mathematically but the others don't.
The theory that the term was 8 years and then somehow became 24 is just that: a theory. I think it fails Occam's razor.
The suggestion that Tarquinius Superbus, the last king, was ousted because his formal term of 24 years ran out flatly contradicts everything we know about the end of the kingdom and the establishment of the Republic - the king's ouster was a revolution, a highly irregular proceeding. So his rule of exactly 24 years was actually atypical and is in fact a point of evidence against the theory.

UPDATE #2: I googled a bit to see if Koptev's theory about term limits for the rex has gained any academic currency or has been suggested independently by other scholars - and it seems that it hasn't. For instance, A.A.Schiller in the book Roman Law: Mechanisms of Development explains about the different theories proposed about the extent of the rex's powers but he takes for granted that the position was for life. Here's a quote from p. 137:

  There is as much speculation regarding the manner in which the rex
  was chosen as there is with respect to his powers, since the details
  must be reconstructed from later reminiscences and reflections of the
  Republican era. The post was for life, and the successor is
  traditionally said to have been selected by means of the institution
  known as interregnum.

UPDATE #3: Just to set the record straight, Koptev's theory has been published by him in a reputable academic journal: (http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/4436788). However, it still seems to not have gained any acceptance or currency - Google Scholar shows just two citations so far, one in another work by Koptev and another in an Italian book. It's in footnote n.31 on p.66 and it begins "No comprendo los argumentos de A. Koptev", i.e. "I do not understand the arguments of A. Koptev".

  'Three Brothers' at the Head of Archaic Rome: The King and His
  'Consuls' Author(s): Alexandr KoptevReviewed work(s):Source: Historia:
  Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Bd. 54, H. 4 (2005), pp.
  382-423Published


texts: Was England considered a "colony" of France?

texts:
After the "Norman conquest of England", many things including languages, the ways of life, etc. have changed a lot in Europe. Especially it affected the English language significantly that a lot of French words were borrowed by English.

Now, I would like to know how history describes the period when England was ruled by royal families of France. Also, if it was regarded as a colony, was there any independence war against the French rule in England? When did England became free of the political influence by France and by what event?


texts: Why have so few paleo-Indian skeletons been found?

texts:
I recently read Charles C. Mann's 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Second Edition, and was intrigued by the footnote on page 174:

  [Aleš] Hrdlička's complaint about the lack of skeletal evidence [at Clovis] was unfair for another reason: paleo-Indian skeletons are extremely rare. In Europe, archaeologists have discovered scores of skeletons ten thousand years old or more. By contrast, fewer than a dozen reasonably complete skeletons of similar age have been found in North America (a few more exist in South America, although, as with the Lagoa Santa skeletons, their provenance is often unclear). "It's a big mystery why we don't find the burials," the University of Vermont archaeologist James Petersen told me. "Some Indians will tell you that their dead all moved to a spiritual plane, and that's about as good as any answer that we've got."

I've Googled for more information about this (searches like rarity of paleo-Indian skeletons), but what I've found has just left me with more questions. For example:

  "Paleoamerican skeletons are rare for several reasons," [James] Chatters said. "The people themselves were few; they were highly nomadic and seem to have buried or cremated the dead where they fell, making the locations of graves unpredictable; also, geologic processes have destroyed or deeply buried their graves." [link]

These statements seem possible, but seem to be at odds with Mann's footnote (and with his thesis more generally).

I obviously don't expect that anyone here can authoritatively answer this, since there seems to be at least some disagreement and doubt; but I wonder what the status of the question is: what the major theories are, what the evidence for them is, how big the different "camps" are?


texts: Was there any official affirmation from the US government that they would win the Vietnam War?

texts:
One thing that the Vietnam War showed is that there are no set parameters that can foretell the outcome of a war, such as the article in The Computer That Predicted the U.S. Would Win the Vietnam War
A cautionary tale about the dangers of big data  explain with interesting facts on big data history.

However, one piece of information that I could not directly find in my research is if there was any official or media interview declaration where one or some personalities made an affirmation on the assuredness of US victory in the Vietnam War.

Is there any citation, picture, transcription or online archive that contains any such citations, if they exist?


texts: When and where did the myth about solar eclipse affecting pregnant women start?

texts:
Evidence for presence of myth -

https://www.lifecell.in/mom-and-baby/pregnancy/care/eclipse-harmful-pregnant-women-myth-or-truth

  In India, eclipse is linked to many dos and don’ts for everybody as it
  is believed to be a bad omen. Pregnant women are advised not to come
  outside, eat or cook during a solar and lunar eclipse because people
  believe that it may have side effects on the growing baby

http://amp.usatoday.com/story/579196001/

  Aztecs believed a lunar eclipse was a result of a bite being taken out
  of the moon. This idea translated into the Mexican superstition that
  if a pregnant woman viewed an eclipse, a bite would be taken out of
  her unborn child's face. Hindu text credits the eclipse to the head of
  the demon Rahu, who ate the moon or sun.

https://www.babycenter.in/x1011503/is-an-eclipse-harmful-during-pregnancy

  There are some superstitions that an eclipse can cause deformities
  such as a cleft lipor unsightly birthmarks

Questions - Which was the first known civilization in which this myth was present?

What were the reasons behind this myth i.e. (why did they think so)?


texts:
The military salute, made with right hand to head of a soldier, seems to be a European tradition, however it is adopted by many armies in the world.

What are origins of this gesture?

I came across a theory that it comes from a medieval knights' gesture of opening the visor of their helmets. According to this source the purpose was to

  reveal his identity as a courtesy on the approach of a superior.

But I'm not entirely sure this is correct, as the identity of a knight was clearly known from the coat of arms painted on his shield. This article says the reason could be that an inferior soldier (i.e. not a knight) opened his visor to his superior to identify himself, but

  the modern form of salute is not recorded before the early 18th century.

(According to this Wikipedia article,  the explanation that connects the gesture with medieval knights is somewhat questionable.)

Further, we read:

  The salute probably developed in response to a change in military headgear. After metal helmets fell out of favour, soldiers wore hats similar to those of civilians. Like civilians they raised their hats when greeting a superior.
  By 1700 grenadiers were wearing tall, conical hats held in place with secure chinstraps that were difficult to raise in greeting. The men began to merely touch their hats as if intending to raise them. Soon other soldiers adopted the shako, busby or bearskin, all of which were held in place by a chinstrap. They, too, stopped raising the hat and instead merely touched its brim. This action was formalised as the salute in European armies by about 1780, and from them spread to the rest of the world.

This article is quite interesting, however not citing any sources and looks a bit like popular science, but for me is acceptable.

There could be a connection to ancient Roman salute and greeting to show empty (ie. without weapon) hands, which we probably still use in a handshake gesture.

This confirms yet another source, saying that

  One theory is that it came from Roman soldiers' shading their eyes from the intense light that was pretended to shine from the eyes of their superiors.

(how do we know it was from Romans not eg. Greeks?)

Further

  The most widely accepted theory is that it evolved from the practice of men raising their hats in the presence of officers. Tipping one's hat on meeting a social superior was the normal civilian sign of respect at the time. [emphasis mine]

I disagree it's most widely accepted, as shown earlier.

At first I wanted to ask "what are the origins of saluting", but it seems there is no good or sure answer for this. So my question is: What is the earliest known account of the modern military salute? I'm not asking when it was introduced, but for the earliest known account. As written above, the early 18th century would be the date, but is there any more information? Or maybe there is an earlier historical source?


texts: How did the debt collection of Gregorius IX work?

texts:
In Dan Jones' 'The Templars', a paragraph details in broad terms how the Templar Order assisted the reigning Pope, Gregorius IX, with his debt collection over numerous Catholic realms.

This is the provided description:

  In 1240, Pope Gregory IX employed a particularly complex version of this, enjoining the French Temple to help him settle his debts: papal revenue collected in Scotland, Ireland and England was routed through the Templar house in Paris; the pope's creditors could then present themselves before the Parisian brothers bearing letters of credit and redeem these for outstanding payments owed to them from Rome.

However, this does not explain the mechanism. From what I understand, the Templars could provide a letter if someone brought money to one of their chapter houses and this letter could be exchanged at a different chapter house for the same value of money. This, on it's own raises some questions where if the money was changed from one form into another, a potential thief could still misappropriate the letter of credit and present it at yet another chapter house for the sum.

But, this papal plan seems to have been out of proportion to everything else -- hence I am wondering if someone can break the mechanism down a bit more to explain how the debt repayment plan worked in itsspecifics?

Did the Scottish, Irish and English Templar houses get the money directly (as in, did they own that year's tithe) or was it given to them by the local churchmen? Was one coin collected in Scotland the same value as one coin in the French realm? After that, how did the Parisian Temple know how much it could redeem the Papal debts for -- and did they do this in coin or similar letters of credit, to be exchanged somewhere else? It sounds dangerous for the Templars to commit to paying out a large number of coin from their Parisian branch while amassing stockpiles of the same in the countries further away, and transporting the coin would indicate that there was no specific benefit to having the Templars be involved with this (as the Pope could have sent his own ships to France with the money just as easily).


texts: At the end of the Seven Years War, what was the total amount of gold and silver in Britain?

texts:
The Seven Years War ended in 1763. At that time, how much gold and silver existed inside Britain?

This would include the British Treasury as well as any personal gold/silver of the nobility and middle classes.

I'm only interested in the total amount of silver and gold, so it doesn't really matter to me who officially owns it. I only assume that the British Treasury is more well-documented than personal wealth down to the middle class


texts: Where is signed original Donitz's authorization to German representatives to ratify "Instrument of surrender signed at Berlin"?

texts:
Where is the signed original of Reichspräsident Dönitz's authorization to German representatives to ratify the "Instrument of surrender signed at Berlin" stored today?

Is a facsimile of the original available online? As you see – this is a copy (right page); I'm looking for the original.

P.S. By the protocol of meeting Keitel was asked "do you have an authority to surrender?" (means Reichspräsident agreement) He replied "yes". I suppose that he had an officially written Dönitz agreement but possibly in one copy. When there were 4 files (for Russians, Americans, GB and France?) 3 of them got copies.

I became interested in that because there are online flames where WWI story (Armistice of Compiègne) is repeated for WWII "Reich had never surrendered, they had no authority to sign it" (btw, that is true for Jodl in Reims who had agreement to sign only ceasefire - Waffenstillstandsabkommen  - but not surrender - Kapitulation - and only with Eisenhower forces).


texts: Are there any contemporary references to the Battle of Badr outside of the Qur'an?

texts: As the question reads, I'm trying to find sources for the Battle of Badr outside of the Qur'an from the same time period.


texts: What clergy went on the second Bering expedition?

texts: Vitus Bering led two seaborne expeditions to explore the Russian Far East. On the second expedition, he founded Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky by building a "City-Nativity" church [Богородско-Рождественской церкви] there. Presuming that it held services, which clergymen were there?


texts:
I was passing through a few old "Wild West" towns in Wyoming and Montana and learning about the deadly history of the towns.

Surprisingly, I learned the Wild West period was only 30 years from 1865-1895.

It got me thinking of life in these towns and during this time period.

Basically, is there an estimate for how many casualties by guns and criminals during this period? I'm considering death from duels, gun battles, bank/train robberies, or any death from a six shooter.


texts: What do we know about the character of William Adelin, son of Henry I?

texts: The chronicler Henry of Huntington doesn't have much good to say about William Adelin (or the Atheling). What about other chroniclers of the time?


texts: Why did the United States issue the Monroe Doctrine when it did?

texts:
The Monroe Doctrine – probably the most long-lasting declaration in American diplomatic history – was issued in 1824, when the U.S. were still not a very strong nation.

Why did President Monroe issue this doctrine when he did? In other words, what "caused" the Monroe Doctrine?


texts: Was the pigment minium (lead oxide) named after the river Minus in Iberia?

texts:
I am doing a project on paint pigments. An obvious part of the introduction is the origins of the various pigment names.

I read in Wikipedia that:

"During the Roman Empire, the term minium could refer either to the pigment made from ground cinnabar or to the less expensive red lead. The name came from the river Minius in Iberia (now forming part of the Spanish-Portuguese border and known as Miño or Minho), located near the main Roman cinnabar mines."

Really? Pliny in Natural History (sometime before 79 AD) mentions the main mine to be in Sisapo in Spain. This is further south than Madrid. The River Minius is in Galicia in the northwest of Spain, and its southernmost limit is now the border with northern Portugal. It is hundreds of miles away. Why would you name a pigment after a geographic feature so far away, with no association to the mine?

Moreover, I can't find a primary reference for this coinage. Pliny doesn't mention it (although he does mention much confusion about the interchangeable names applied to several red pigments in the 1st century AD). Neither is this naming derivation mentioned by relatively modern writers such as Cennini (Il libro dell’arte, 1437), or really modern writers such as Fitzhugh in (Artist's Pigments, A handbook of their history and characteristics, Vol 1, Ed. R L Feller, 1986).

In fact, the only thing resembling a reference is a paper by Barnett, Miller & Pearce "Colour and art: A brief history of pigments"  (Optics & Laser Technology 38 (2006) 445–453), where they state:

"Red lead is a form of lead oxide (Pb3O4) and is found as the mineral minium after the River Minius in northwest Spain."

They don't give a reference for this coinage either.

I don't claim to have checked every primary reference, textbook, PhD thesis or research paper in existence (although not for lack of trying. This search has been ongoing for over a month!). But unless someone can tell me otherwise, this naming of red lead after a river looks like a questionable conjecture that has somehow morphed into "fact".

Does anyone out there have any definitive information either way?

[The tags for this question are not much use. This is because I can't make up my own tags due to a lack of reputation so I had to use the least badly fitting tags already available. If a moderator wants to replace "Painting" with "Paint" and add "Pigment" and "Minium" to the tags, that would be really helpful.]


texts: When did Dei gratia/fidi defensor first appear on British coins?

texts:
Just as the title says: When did Dei gratia (D.G.) /fidi (fidei) defensor (F.D.) first appear on British coins?
Answering When and how did the British Monarchy stop claiming Divine Right made me realize that I don't know when this first appeared.


texts:
Please provide me an example of a religious violence that was rooted at ethnic conflict.

Did Armenian and Turkish conflict have religious reasons or ethnic reasons?

Did Tamil and Sinhalese conflict (Srilanka) have religious reasons or ethnic reasons?


texts: Where can I find a scan of the translated "De re militari" in Bulgarian?

texts: De Re Militari was translated into English, French and Bulgarian before the 15th century. Where can I find a scan of the Bulgarian translation?


texts: How did Thomas Jefferson's time in France influence his views of women?

texts:
Jefferson seemed to believe for some time that women were consigned to domestic duties while men were tasked food, shelter, protection, public debate, and politics. He went so far, in 1816, to declare that for men and women to cross this division and mix promiscuously in public meetings would produce "deprivation of morals and ambiguity of issue."

However, in France, he met for the first time intelligent and emancipated women who presided over the Parisian salons, debating politics and moving freely within spheres of society that were considered off-limits to women in America.

How did Jefferson's exposure to women in France influence his views of women, especially in the context of his ideal republican vision centered around the nuclear family?


texts: Why did Indira Gandhi lift the Emergency?

texts:
Indira Gandhi imposed a state of emergency (known as The Emergency) on 25 June 1975 which was withdrawn abruptly on 21 March 1977. Why was it lifted?

Writes R.Guha about the withdrawal in India after Gandhi:

  On 18 January 1977, Prime Minister announced that the Parliament be dissolved and fresh elections held. This came as a surprise to her political opponents, who were let out of their cells even as the announcement was being made on All-India Radio. And, from all accounts, it came as a shock to Sanjay, who too had not been informed before hand. The term of the present Parliament
  could have been extended, year after year. The underground resistance had been fully tamed. And yet Mrs Gandhi decided, suddenly and without consulting anyone, to return India to democracy.


texts: When did coal replace firewood in early America?

texts:
From the perspective of early colonists in America, it makes sense that firewood was initially easier to collect, but that as demand grew there was a transition to coal, which was more abundant. According to https://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-us-coal-industry-in-the-nineteenth-century-2/

  With abundant supplies of wood, water, and animal fuel, there was little need to use mineral fuel in seventeenth and eighteenth-century America. But as colonial cities along the eastern seaboard grew in population and in prestige, coal began to appear in American forges and furnaces.

Of course, the advantage of coal over wood is greater for making steel than for simple heating.

To ask a specific question, then:

In what decade did New York City start consuming more coal than firewood for domestic heating?


texts: What were the dominant Native American cultures in Eastern Canada and New England in the late 900s?

texts:
It's an oddly specific question, I know. Just to lay my cards on the table I'm writing a piece of short fiction about a small band of vikings that penetrates deeper into the American interior than any of the real Norse settlers probably ever did. I know plenty about the early medieval Norse, but little about the indigenous cultures of pre-contact North America. I'm hoping that by asking here I'll be able to get a frame of reference and some key names I can use to begin doing research.

I can be pretty sure my vikings will attracted to settled towns, always wanting for supplies, and wary of centralized military force. So which cultures in eastern Canada, and the northeastern United States were the most settled, prosperous, ubiquitous, and/or militarily dominant in the late 900s?


texts: Who was Richard of York at the Battle of Grunwald?

texts: Gloria.TV states that "the foreign knight,...Richard of York" fought, and was killed, at the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) in 1410.  I can find no one from the house of York who might have been at Grunwald.  The elder Richard, 3rd Earl of Cambridge and son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, was beheaded in 1415 for conspiring against Henry V, and Richard's son, Richard Plantagenet,3rd Duke of York was not born until 1411. This latter Richard was of course the father of Edward IV and Richard III.  None of these men would have been able to have been at Grunwald in 1410.  Does anyone know to whom the article about Grunwald is referring?


texts: What was the historical prevalance of inherited chattel slavery?

texts:
Slavery was widespread throughout the ancient world. However, some of the most common examples seem to differ qualitatively from slavery as it's commonly conceived today. For instance, Greek slavery was often the result of war or more similar to later Medieval serfdom, whereas African and Middle Eastern slavery seems to have allowed the children of slaves to essentially become family members, albeit possibly of a lower social status. In many of these cases, slavery was not hereditary, and the children of enslaved people could become free.

Neither of these was quite the same as later chattel slavery in the Americas, where enslavement was hereditary with a growing enslaved population, and enslaved individuals could legally be bought and sold.

Obviously, the prevalence and importance of chattel slavery exploded with European colonization of the Americas, primarily through the enslavement of Africans.
However, how  common was chattel1 slavery worldwide before the trans-Atlantic slave trade?

1: While the term can be a little vague, by chattel slavery I mean slavery in which individuals are legally considered property to be disposed of as the putative owner wishes, and in which slavery is both heritable and frequently inherited. For instance: serfdom probably wouldn't count, because even though the lord controls the labor of their serfs, and serfdom is inherited, the lord couldn't do whatever they wanted with their serfs, or directly sell or buy them.


texts:
Wikipedia's article titled Catholic Church and slavery says Saint Patrick advocated abolition of slavery in the fifth century, and cites Life in Medieval Times by Marjorie Rowling. I've read that same assertion in other places.

Where is this in Saint Patrick's writings?


texts: Were there any Russians in the 1849 Gold Rush?

texts: A gold rush always brings new arrivals from many directions. Had any of the miners and businesspeople of the 1849 California Gold Rush come from Russia?


texts:
How did books like Gorgias or Republic survive to these days? Where were they found or how were they preserved so well for the centuries when antique philosophers were rejected as atheists?

And are the originals still around or are the current versions only multiple transcriptions?


texts: Was early Mari Sumerian or multicultural?

texts:
Mari was a multicultural Semitic and Sumerian city in central Mesopotamia. Despite its rich history during the historical period, I have found almost no discussion of the earliest period. This was from 2,900 B.C. until it was abandoned around 2,550 B.C. Obviously, the lack of sources stems from the fact that information about this early period is limited to archaeology.

Was early Mari Sumerian or Semitic, or East Semitic? Was it a multicultural Sumerian and Semitic city during this first period, like it was in the subsequent period?

Added 3/23: The question might have to do with the origin of Ignace Gelb's "Kish civilization", and probably also of East Semitic people in general. This is a poorly understood area. I do think there exists some outlying viewpoints like Gelb's that could help to illuminate this important, but poorly understood time and place. Attributing Mari to a certain people probably has to do with whether there was enough material excavated from this earliest layer to draw any conclusions.

Syria was stimulated in the late Uruk period (3400-3100) by Sumerian migrants and commerce (1). The end of this period seems to have coincided with the migration of possibly Syrian, Semitic Kish people into north-central Mesopotamia. I think that I've seen it mentioned that the Eastern Semitic cultures could have been a fusion of Sumerian migrants with semi-nomadic Semitic peoples. This could be why the proto historical period is characterized by an East Semitic people here that worship Sumerian gods.

The region had been subjected to larger cultural entities for two millenium at this point. I'd be surprised if Mari couldn't be placed in context within the surrounding cultures.
I don't know much about Syria at this time, but it seems likely for a city founded half way between Syria and Sumer at this time to have been heavily influenced by Sumerians. Furthering my point, there was little growth in Syria from the end of the Uruk period to the mid 3rd millenium B.C. (Hamblin, p. 240)

Added: 3/29 I recall reading that Mari may have been founded by colonists from Terqa, which preceeded it, and remained an important outpost. I thought this was in Hamblin, but I can't find it.

(1) William J Hamblin. A history of warfare in the ancient Near East. Routledge, 2006.

Mari- Wikipedia


texts: Has bad government interventions in the economy ever resulted in unexpectedly good outcomes for the industry?

texts:
In the business world, people have talked about the role of serendipity or luck in a firm's success. Is there something similar for the success of a government's economic policy?

More specifically, are there any examples in history where a government intervention in the industry was held to be poorly-conceived or ill-informed from an economic perspective. For example, how the Ghanaian government used to instruct factories to be set up at unreasonable locations. But the intervention ended up unexpectedly benefiting the industry, e.g., lead to discovery of a new technology/a new market solution...?


texts: During the 1930-40s - World War 2 - were children taught English in Nazi Germany?

texts: Were children taught English as a language or any other languages? Or did they only learn German? To be specific, schoolchildren aged 12 or above.


texts: Are the war plans published in "Dropshot: The American Plan for World War III against Russia in 1957" genuine?

texts:
In 1979 Anthony Cave Brown published a book (Operation, World War III: The Secret American Plan 'Dropshot' for War with the Soviet Union, 1957, Arms and Armour Press, 1979; Google Books, Amazon) which was based on declassified war plans of the Operation Dropshot.

Are these war plans genuine? Did anyone ever question their authenticity?

This is the reason why I am suspicious: If you look at the way Soviet propaganda tried to incite hatred towards Americans, there are two common themes:

Discrimination of Africans
Persecution of Communists

These ideas were so prevalent that they became subjects of jokes and songs even in post-Soviet Russia. In modern Russia, people still remember them.

If the war plans from the book above were real, Soviet propaganda would have a much better ideological tool. Instead of saying Americans are bad because they discriminate against Africans and Communists, they could say Americans are bad because they wanted to kill us all.

The latter message would be much more effective than the former because if someone (the Americans) wanted to kill you (Soviet citizens), you are more likely to hate them than if that same nation

discriminates against people (African Americans) who live on the other side of the world, look differently and whom you never saw in your life or
against Communists which many Soviets did not like.

But the Soviet propaganda (to my knowledge) never used the Operation Dropshot materials. If they are real, it means that the US and its allies planned to subject the Soviet Union to a nuclear Holocaust in 1957.

Wikipedia writes:

  Dropshot included mission profiles that would have used 300 nuclear bombs and 29,000 high-explosive bombs on 200 targets in 100 cities and towns to wipe out 85 percent of the Soviet Union's industrial potential at a single stroke.

Soviet Union could not retaliate at that time because it lacked means of delivery of an atomic bomb.

These plans were a much stronger reason to hate the Americans. But for some reason Soviet propagand did not make use of it. This is why I think these war plans may be fake.


texts: What populations have been denied the ability to leave a territory, so that its goverment could kill them?

texts:
There are well known examples such as Jewish populations in WW2, and some of the ethnic minorities in Khmer Rouge Cambodia, who although considered an enemy population, were prevented from leaving a territory, because the government of that region had decided to kill them at a later time, or to one way or another dispose of the population in ways that were incompatible with permitting them to leave.

What are the other cases in recent history where this happened?  In Rwanda the Tutsis were barred from leaving once the massacre began, but things proceeded very quickly and I do not know whether there was some prior restriction on travel to set the stage for the atrocities.


texts: Anybody know the history of Vegas and basically why that location was chosen as the main hub for gambling, hotels, and entertainment given that (at that time) it was pretty much a random desert in the middle of nowhere?


texts: Why and how were east Brandenburg, Pomerania and Silesia taken away from Germany after WW2?

texts:
These areas have always been German, in fact Pomerania and Brandenburg were both part of Prussia since the 1700's. Why did the Soviet Union do this, and how did the victorious powers justify taking these very German areas away to form Poland? Bear in mind that when borders shift in Europe, the 'shifter' usually has some sort of (usually weak) justification, like Danzig being a former part of Poland-Lithuania and Alsace-Lorraine being a part of the HRE before 1680. However I don't think east Pomerania and east Brandenburg was ever Polish, although Silesia had a Polish minority.

How were these territories acquired? In WW1, German territories were readily carved up by the Treaty of Versailles; what was the treaty in question after WW2?


texts: What is a "jerry-built area" in the 1937 HOLC maps?

texts:
Established as part of the New Deal, the Home Owners' Loan Corporation offered mortgage loans to expand home buying. In the process it made a detailed grading of neighborhoods into categories A (green) to D (red), with important long-term consequences on racial discrimination.
I am interested in the description of the C (yellow) category:

The Third grade or C areas are characterized by age, obsolescence, [...]. "Jerry" built areas are included as well as neighborhoods lacking homogeneity.

Source: the 1937 map for Hartford, CT, but similar descriptions can be found elsewhere.
My questions are: what is/was a "Jerry" built area? Were they a direct consequence of the Great Depression? And why would they automatically get graded C?


texts: When did abolition of property qualifications for voting begin in the USA?

texts:
I understand that voting qualifications in the USA are a state matter and this didn't all happen in one blow. But which states were the first and last to abolish property qualifications for voting? Was this a controversial step at the time? Was it something that divided along party lines?

I am specifically not asking about:

racial barriers to voting

votes for women

Both very interesting, but not what I want to know.


texts:
We have a related modern question:

WWI trench tactics using shields?

But if we move back into antiquity, are there accounts of the testudo formation withstanding ballistae bolts? Could it?


texts: What is this consistent symbol in the Spanish coat of arms?

texts:
I have been reading Spanish history today, and have noticed a very distinct commonality in the flags and coat of arms for various periods, but I haven't been able to find precise explanations of the mythology or meaning for the creature consistently depicted, see example attached.

This is from the flag of Leon, seems to be a phoenix, but I really have no clue.

Does anyone have more insight to share?


texts: What did the Romans call Cardigan the town in West Wales, UK?

texts: I understand that the Romans made an encyclopedia of all their territory and I would like to know  what they called Cardigan as I am trying to date a milestone built upside down into my cottage.


texts: What is the most widely accepted theory on the ancient "Sea Peoples"?

texts:
There are many theories as to who they were.  The wiki page has nine hypotheses.

What is the most widely accepted theory on who the ancient Sea Peoples were?


texts: Gold coin vs Silver coin exchange rate fluctuations in antiquity

texts:
Commodity prices fluctuate based on many factors (mostly use and availability).

How much the exchange rate between gold and silver coins may fluctuate in a month or a year?

Place: Judea & Bavel.

Time: ~2000 years ago.

Base rate: 25 silver shekels for 1 gold shekel.

PS. This is tangentially related to Value of commodity money outside of the place it was minted


texts: Why did no Independent American Indian states ever develop?

texts:
The Jewish people, who had no state of their own for close to two thousand years, re-created one in the 20th century. How come no native American states have formed? Is there something preventing it?

Since the USA has supported national independence in places like Tibet, why don't they support independence for the American Indian States with their own laws, military, parliament etc.?


texts: After the USS Reuben James was sunk (1941 Oct 31) by Germany, why didn't the USA join the war?

texts:
The USS Reuben James was a Destroyer protecting a convoy when it was hit and sunk by a torpedo from a German U-Boat. This was on Oct 31, 1941. Most of the people on board were killed.

A Wikipedia article on the US Neutrality Acts also says:

  After repeated attacks by German submarines on U.S. ships, Roosevelt announced on September 11, 1941, that he had ordered the U.S. Navy to attack German and Italian war vessels in the "waters which we deem necessary for our defense".

Though it has no citation for that, it makes it sound like Germany had been attacking US shipping for at least a month.

And I guess I'll just explicitly make the obvious comparison to WW1 and the Lusitania. Germany sank the Lusitania in 1915. It was a British ship, but over 100 Americans died in that attack, so American joined WW1 albeit two years later.

In the Rueben James case, it was an American ship and over 100 died according to Larrabee (Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and Their War, Simon and Schuster, 1988; Google books). So why didn't America join the war after it sank?


texts: What "other property" was considered for representation at the Constitutional Convention?

texts:
In the Wikipedia article on the US Constitutional Convention, it states that:

  The most contentious disputes revolved around the composition and election of the Senate, how "proportional representation" was to be defined (whether to include slaves or other property), ...

A slave had a status as property, but was also a human being.  What "other property" was being considered?  The article doesn't appear to say anything specific regarding discussion of any other forms of property.

The only thing I can think of that would make this statement make sense would be a really ugly, dehumanizing question designed to argue against counting any representation for slaves, along the lines of "well if you can consider that Southern plantation owner's property for the purposes of representation, then why not consider the assets of my bank in New York?"

What was the "other property" that was discussed at the Constitutional Convention?


texts: What is the significance of barley as opposed to wheat in Ancient Rome?

texts:
Recently, I was reading about the Roman Army's use of decimation, and the Wikipedia article repeatedly mentions that after the application of this punishment, soldiers would have their wheat rations replaced with barley, but doesn't explain why. I've done a few Google searches, but haven't found an explanation as to why this is.
I've seen some references to barley being seen as fit only for animals, but I've been unable to confirm this and it still raises the question of why.


texts: During the U.S. Prohibition, how did they get away with drinking alcohol?

texts:
I have heard about countless stories talking about people drinking during the Prohibition.
How was this possible? How did they get away with drinking alcohol without getting caught?


texts: Before entering WW II, why was the US so against Japanese aggression in China but did nothing about Germany in Europe?

texts: The US was very vocal against Japanese aggression in China in the 1930's and early 1940's but said nothing against German aggression in Europe.  The US finally placed an embargo on sending oil and iron ore to Japan as a protest but did nothing against Germany.  Yet it would seem that China at that time was not a vital interest of the US but Europe, with friendly nations like England and France, was.  The embargo finally caused Japan to look for other sources of these vital materials which eventually led to the attack on Pearl Harbor.  We declared war on Japan as a result but not on Germany.  My question is why did we put up with Germany's actions but not Japan's? I know that we aided England with Lend Lease and such, but we maintained diplomatic relations with Germany and did not protest their actions the way we did with Japan.


texts: During the Míng Dynasty could local authorities make laws?

texts:
I have been unable to find how much, if any, authority was had for the creation of local laws in Míng China. Was it allowed to create local laws at the town, city, or provincial level in Míng China? And, if so, then who had that authority?

Edit after Semaphore’s comment: So local officials can make a by-law, but what happens if people violate that by-law assuming whatever they do doesn’t violate imperial law? Can they be punished? I know the Grand Administrator would send inspectors to ensure that local criminal lawsuits were conducted fairly. How would they view lawsuits involving these by-laws?


texts: Since when were the US the strongest military power?

texts: I was wondering since when the USA became the strongest military power. Moreover, which states was in this position before the united states?


texts: How can I find the most complete list of the names of Kaytn Massacre victims?

texts:
The Katyn Massacre refers to a series of mass executions of Polish prisoners by Soviet authorities during WW2. The number of victims is estimated to be over 22,000. How can I go about finding the names of all known Katyn Massacre victims?

Is there compilation of names that is regarded to be the most complete, and would such lists be available electronically?


texts: How long would it have taken to sail from Boston to Nova Scotia in 1775?

texts: I have to write a diary for my Social Studies class on what life as a loyalist was like.  How long would it have taken them to sail from Boston to Nova Scotia, also known as British North America in about 1775?


texts: Were dissident KPD members ratted out to the Gestapo?

texts:
In her essay "Gestern Morgen", Bini Adamczak tells a story from Manes Sperbers "Wie eine Träne im Ozean." I'll paraphrase:

  In 1935, a member of the German Communist Party (KPD) finds himself
  doubting the strategy and analysis of the party in its dealing with
  the Nazis. He starts meeting and talking to dissident communists and
  even members of the SPD. Because a formal exclusion from the
  party is difficult to achieve, as the KPD is already illegal, his
  seniors in the party find a 'pragmatic' solution and rat him to the
  Gestapo. The party member gets imprisoned in a concentration camp, where he is treated
  as a traitor by his fellow communists.

Now, this is taken from a novel. I understand that Sperber wanted to expose a certain modes of thinking within the party, such as obedience and compliance, that certainly existed. And we know that Stalin delivered German communists into the hand of the Nazis.

But are there any accounts of the German KPD actually ratting out its comrades to the Nazis as a way of dealing with dissidents?


texts: Why do schools in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea use the Westminster Quarters as school chime?

texts:
Today, I read about the Westminister Quarters, the chime used by Big Ben in Westminster, London. In that article, I see this assertion:

  Most schools in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea play the chimes to signal the end and beginning of periods.

My personal experience in Taiwan, in the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia, and seeing videos of Japanese schools suggest that the assertion is plausible. (Also, anime sometimes play the chimes during school scenes).

The Japanese Wikipedia article on chimes has additional information. The article asserts that in Japan, the chimes were adopted in 1954 by a person named 石本邦雄. The adoption was inspired by the chimes played on BBC radio broadcasts. There is no citation.

I find it interesting that the chimes has mass adoption in a select few East Asian countries, and I think it is unlikely to be mere coincidence. Questions:

What was the reason for the mass adoption of the Westminster Quarters in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea?
When did these places start adopting the chimes?


texts: What is the most correct transcription of Ramesses II name?

texts:
According to Wiki, Ramesses name can be also transcribed as /ˈræmsiːz/ or /ˈræmziːz/

What is the most correct and how to prove this?

How to distinguish s and z correctness?

UPDATE

I met an opinion, that usage of z is VERY VERY wrong. And I am trying to find the basis of this. One of the reasonings was that the processes of turnin voiceless were finished in ancient egyptian language up to Middle Kingdom of Egypt, which was far before Ramesses II.


texts: Other examples of Enclave created for protection of a Mixed Race

texts:
McCluskieganj/McCluskiegunj was a town created out of several villages to secure a place for Anglo-Indians.

Disambiguation:
By Anglo-Indians I mean it in the way it has been used since the Indian census of 1911, i.e a domiciled community of mixed descent, who were formerly known as Eurasian, country-born or half-caste, and not as in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when it referred to the British in India.

Ernest Timothy McCluskie, a land and house agent from Calcutta, founded the Colonization Society of India Ltd in 1933 in Calcutta with the idea of establishing an Anglo-Indian refuge, where their racial insecurities could be put to rest. This is thus several years before India's independence, under British rule, but within the context of imminent independence, when the British would leave.

It has been described as:

  [It] is the only homeland that Anglo-Indians worldwide can claim as
  their very own – the leftover of a dream for independence. --
  Vaihayasi Daniel in Sunday Mid-Day in 1992.

My question is: are there any other examples of enclaves created solely for protecting people of mixed descent? By created I mean something that did not grow due to influx or settlement, that is, without a laid out charter.


texts: What is the small country between USSR and Mongolia in 1935?

texts:
Please, help me to identify the small territory to the northwest of Mongolia that you can see in this map:

I've searched on Google and Wikipedia with no results.

(I know it's not so small a territory. It looks about the size of Austria)


texts:
There was an Australian Sprinter Peter Norman who came second in the 1968 Olympics.

Peter Norman known for his support of John Carlos and Tommie Smith when they made their famous raised-fist gesture at the 1968 Olympics medal ceremony - by wearing the same human rights badge.

He was denied an opportunity to compete in the 1972 Olympics for Australia despite qualifying 13 times.

  In August 2012, the federal parliament debated a motion to provide an apology to Norman.The Australian Olympic Committee disputed the claims that Norman had been blacklisted or was excluded from the 1972 Olympics team. Regarding the 2000 Olympics, they said that no other former athletes had been invited to take part and that Norman was offered the same chance to buy tickets as others were. The AOC did not believe that Norman was owed an apology.

My question is: Why did the Australian IOC deny that Peter Norman was excluded from the 1972 Olympics for supporting racial equality?

EDIT 7 May 2018: The AOC has given Peter Norman a posthumous order of merit and admitted their negligence:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-28/aoc-gives-posthumous-honour-to-australian-olympian-peter-norman/9706970

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/peter-norman-given-posthumous-order-of-merit-by-aoc


texts: Are there sources that record ancient women in patriarchal societies' thoughts about patriarchy?

texts:
Are there any sources describing what women in ancient patriarchal societies (like Greece, Rome, etc.) thought about the patriarchy? I've heard of feminist movements throughout history; this Britannica article mentions women barricading a Forum in Rome to overturn a sexist law. But do we know what any women actually thought of patriarchal laws?

Is it presentism to assume that ancient Greek women, for example, did not enjoy being unable to own property and wished they could?


texts: What did the smaller values from the "Percentages Agreement" actually mean?

texts:
I am currently living in Romania and I have heard on several occasions about the Percentages agreement.

The article mentions that it was a secret agreement, so most of the information about it was contradictory ranging from "it did not happen" to "it happened and it is a sign that West left us to the Russians".

According to Wikipedia, Romania was one of the "unlucky" countries to fall under the Russia influence (90%):

  90%   to USSR and only 10% to UK

Question: What do those 10 percent for UK actually mean?

Was there any real influence from Western, at least in the first decades of communism in the Eastern block?

[Edit related to duplicate]

Referenced question is about leaders' intention, while this one is about the actual outcome (if any) of the small percentages.


texts: Diaries or writings of Cathar Perfecti in 12th Century France

texts: The Cathars were a Gnostic sect of southern (Languedoc) France in the 12th Century. "Perfecti" were individuals in the sect who followed the most extremely austere lives, renouncing worldly pleasures including eating of meat and sex.  Did any diaries or writings from these Perfecti survive to modern times?


texts: How has Chinese GDP as a percentage of world GDP changed over time and why?

texts:
I've heard it's 33% during the Qing dinasty. 4% during cultural revolution. Now it's climbing up steadily to 11%.

Where can I see the table of those actually tracking those numbers?

What were the causes?


texts:
Who was the first member of the United States Senate to resign?

How many times has it happened?

Where might one find a list of resignations of senators?

(My tentative guess was Moses Robinson of Vermont, who resigned on October 15, 1796, but I am very uncertain of that.)


texts: What damage did anti-tank rifles hope to inflict on tanks in WW2?

texts:
Initially I was surprised to learn that such a thing as an anti-tank rifle even exists. It seems a ludicrous idea to try to shoot a tank with a rifle.

But let's suppose that the bullet really hits a lucky velocity/angle combination and penetrates the armor of the tank. What next? Was the point of anti-tank rifles to wound or kill the crew? Hit the ammunition magazine? If the shot failed to do any of these objectives, could it cause any damage to the tank?

If you imagine a tank it is a huge armored box. The chance of hitting a vital point seems incredibly small. Are there some statistics saying e.g. if a tank was hit by anti-tank rifle, what are the odds of putting it out of action?


texts: Why didn't Portugal found universities in its colonies like Spain?

texts:
Imperial Spain and Portugal conquered and developed huge empires. Both monarchies were Catholic and seized huge amounts of land in the 1500s.

Both European motherlands had numerous universities, but their colonies looked less similar. Brazil and the other Portuguese colonies had zero, while about ten Spanish colonies, including Venezuela, Chile, and Bolivia, did have universities, sometimes several. Portugal finally founded universities in some of its remaining colonies in 1962.

What explains the two empires' very different priorities with regard to higher education in their colonies?


texts: Why did Titanic need two steering wheels?

texts:
The quote beneath doesn't explain why the wheel in the navigating bridge wasn't the main one.  If the bridge's wheel suffices for 'frequent changes of course or maneuvering', why not make the bridge wheel the main one?

The wheelhouse's wheel feels redundant and foolish: why situate crew and helmsman where they can see forward more poorly?

  On the centerline of the bridge, facing the windows, was a helm with
  the ship’s wheel and a binnacle housing a steering compass immediately
  forward of it. This wheel was not what could be considered the main
  ship’s wheel, as it was only used when the ship was subject to
  frequent changes of course or maneuvering, as would be done near land,
  in a narrow channel, in port or when docking. When in use it was
  connected via an overhead mechanical linkage to the main steering
  mechanism located further aft in the wheelhouse. (This linkage is
  visible in the photograph of Olympic’s bridge taken by Revd Browne.)
  Once the ship was at sea under a normal steaming watch, the wheel on
  the bridge had its linkage disconnected, and the ship was then steered
  from inside the wheelhouse. If you were standing in front of the
  bridge wheel and turned to face aft, you would be facing the
  wheelhouse and be able to see inside it through large windows on its
  forward side. Those within would have a clear view of everything on
  the bridge and out the bridge windows facing forward. Inside the
  wheelhouse was located the main ship’s wheel, and immediately forward
  of it another binnacle housing a second steering compass. The wheel at
  this location was connected to a steering mechanism called a
  Telemotor.

The 1997 movie Titanic portrays these two wheels.


texts: Did Greek traders visit the Philippines in the 1st century AD?

texts:
According to the article Cebu, a Port City in Prehistoric and in Present Times,

  The Visayan Islands had earlier encounter [sic] with the Greek traders in 21
  A.D.

This is repeated in the Wikipedia article Prehistory of the Philippines almost word for word but with a specific reference to the island of Cebu, 'discovered' in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan who died there at the end of a bamboo spear. The same sentence also appears in History of the Philippines (900–1521).

The original source for all the above is a 1973 book History of Panay by Felix B Regalado and Quintin B Franco. A review of this book in the Journal of Asian and African Studies (1980) is less than complimentary in parts, notably:

  the book is interspersed with a number of careless, trifling
  assertions

The reviewer also (rather uncharitably) describes the authors' English as "deplorable".

Unfortunately, despite being in the Philippines, I can't get my hands on a copy of this book to see from where the authors got the information about Greek traders in 21 AD. Nor have I been able to find any other clear reference to these Greek traders.

My searching did turn up several references to the Philippines relating to the geographer Ptolemy's map, including this claim:

  According to Jose Rizal (national hero), on Ptolemy's map, which was
  made before the second century A.D., the group of islands now known as
  the Philippines was called Tawalisi.

Ptolemy's source was apparently a sailor called Hippalus, but there is no reference in the Wiki article to him venturing beyond the Indian ocean. Also, the Wiki article on Tawalisi says we can only guess at the location of this kingdom.

Finally, according to this Wiki page, Ptolemy referred to another Philippine island, Mindoro ('Island of Gold'), as 'Chryse' but there is no further information. Also, looking at Ptolemy's map hasn't helped (maybe because I'm hopeless at deciphering the text).

None of these references, though, are evidence of Greek (or Roman) traders having actually visited any of the Philippine islands. The only source which says this is History of Panay, the credibility of which seems to be in some doubt. However, the reference 21 AD is quite specific...

Is there any evidence to support the reference to Greek (or Roman) traders having visited any of the Philippine islands during the 1st (or even the 2nd) century AD?


texts: What is the term for "power vacuum" before the concept of vacuum?

texts:
Essentially I am wondering, what was the term for a power vacuum (when a position of power is suddenly unoccupied such as a monarch with no heir) before the concept of a vacuum existed?

I understand that the idea of a void of nothingness has been debated by philosophers and such since the times of the old Greeks but I cannot find any history of the term's usage, and according to Wikipedia the concept of vacuum only caught on in the 14th Century.

Not sure if this question is more appropriate for English Language, please let me know if it is.


texts: When were marching bands last used in warfare?

texts:
In the era of muskets and closed troop formations, musicians marched together with the solders and played marching music even during the battle.

When was the last time such practices were used in battle?

In the USA Civil War they were certainly used, and I would guess in WW1 they were no longer used. Is it possible to narrow it down even further?

I would guess the Franco-Prussian war was technologically not too much different from the American Civil War. Could that be the answer?


texts: What are some sources on college life in the second half of the 19th century USA

texts: Could someone please direct me towards books (diaries, memoirs...) on college life (particularly dental colleges) in the USA in the second half of the 19th century (particularly 1870s)? Thank you!


texts:
From a Crash Course World History video:

In China, Liang Qichao came up with a different source of reform, the Strong State, after the failure of the Boxer Rebellion in 1901, he wrote his awesomely titled On the New Rules for Destroying Countries.
This was a critique of European imperialism, but it was also a call for a strong, somewhat authoritarian state that could stand up to the west. [joke omitted]
Eventually he came to the conclusion that the Chinese people must now accept authoritarian rule.  They cannot enjoy freedom.
Asian Responses to Imperialism: Crash Course World History #213, YouTube (starting 8:00)

I'm interested in tracking down "On the New Rules for Destroying Countries"(published in 1901) but didn't succeed, which I believe is in Chinese and published in a Chinese journal (see a Google Books result indicates a translation).
His name in Chinese is 梁启超 (or 梁啟超 or 梁啓超).  I believe this work was reproduced in the collection 饮冰室合集.  Beyond that, I'm not sure where to look.
Question: Where can I find the original "On the New Rules for Destroying Countries" (1901) by Liang Qichao?


texts: Re: WWI, is the term "Allies" a retronym?

texts: Were Allies of WWI called "Allies" at the time (in English), or is that a term we started applying later?  Did they just refer to themselves as the (Triple) Entente?


texts: Where can I find information about prior Israel/Gaza conflicts?

texts: The recent fighting between Israel and Gaza has me wondering about prior conflicts that came before this one. Is there a bipartisan source detailing prior significant conflicts between the two entities? By significant I'm thinking about events that in terms of timeframe, casualties, or effect.


texts: Books on the history of modern China for pleasure reading?

texts:
I'm interested in learning about this history of modern China, which to me means roughly the 19th-20th centuries. I'm kind of interested in the industrial development of China, and its role during the WWII period.

Are there any good books that focus on these subjects, but are suited to someone reading just for fun? I'm not a history student, but just curious due to being part Chinese. I should add that I'm mainly interested in nonfiction books as opposed to historical fiction. Thanks.

(I'm also interested in books on Ancient China, but I don't really know enough to ask a more specific question about it.)


texts: Can anyone identify this sword, believe to be Ottoman Empire (Turkish)?

texts: I am trying to identify a sword believe to be Ottoman Empire (Turkish).


texts: Was the 1977 sale of a submarine to Indonesia controversial in Germany at the time?

texts:
In April 2021, the Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala sunk with all hands. The submarine was sold by Germany in 1977 (contract signed, manufacture finished in 1981).
Just two years before order, Indonesia had brutally occupied East Timor:

From the start of the invasion onward, TNI forces engaged in the wholesale massacre of Timorese civilians. At the start of the occupation, Fretilin radio sent the following broadcast: "The Indonesian forces are killing indiscriminately. Women and children are being shot in the streets. We are all going to be killed.... This is an appeal for international help. Please do something to stop this invasion." One Timorese refugee told later of "rape [and] cold-blooded assassinations of women and children and Chinese shop owners".

So while noone in 1977 could have known that the total death toll of the occupation would become between 100,000 and 300,000, it was public knowledge at the time that the Indonesian army and it's allied militias committed many atrocities and mass killings.
So arming the Indonesian state, even with "just" a ship, especially as it was part of a loan to the government, could have been controversial at the time. Was there any public controversy?
May prior research where the wiki pages and linked sources of the submarine and its class as well as googling, however the latter is swamped by the recent news.
As an aside, the famous saying by Hans Dietrich Genscher "alles was schwimmt, geht" (if it swims, it's ok to export) concerning arms export came later.


texts:
So I've been studying imperialism. Focusing on Japan, Japan's imperialism is a result of its modernization which is a result of Matthew Perry's siege (not a good word). After the treaty of Kanagawa, Japan started looking to end western influence, as to not follow in China's footsteps, prompting the modernization and industrialization. I read that Japan based its government and parts of its army off that of Germany's.

So in 1940 when Japan allied with Germany in world war 2, was the way Japan went about modernizing a root, if not the root, of this (as Japan was influenced rather strongly by Germany in the 19th century)?


texts: What was the family relationship between British neo-Nazi politician John Tyndall and the 19th century physicist of the same name?

texts: John Tyndall was a neo-Nazi British politician who chaired the National Front and who was the chairman of the British National Party from 1982 to 1999. According to his obituary in the Daily Telegraph, he was a descendant of the 19th century physicist John Tyndall. That ancestor was a "Social Darwinist" associate of Herbert Spencer and Thomas Huxley in the X Club. What exactly was the family relationship between the two men?


texts: How accurate is Grossman's description of Nazi concentration camps?

texts:
Vasily Grossman was a Russian-Jewish journalist and fiction writer. His 1959 epic-novel "Life and Fate" opens with a description of a German concentration camp. He tells of the following features, calling them "Nazi inventions":

Many would end up in a camp for criticising the Nazi regime in a private conversation or even for telling a political joke;
POWs would end up in a camp for political prisoners, including Western allies' and Soviet POWs in the same camp;
Workers would end up in a camp for leaving job or even for poor performance;
Some prisoners were German emigrants who fled Nazi Germany; "whoever left Germany became a political enemy";
Along with political prisoners, there were criminal convicts (e. g., professional thieves), who were privileged and used by the administration to control the political prisoners;

The novel was not published in the Soviet Union, moreover, Grossman's apartment was raided and the manuscript was confiscated by KGB (though, a copy made its way to the West), with Mikhail Suslov allegedly commenting that it would not be published in the next 200 or 300 years. And indeed, the above features were in fact characteristic of GULAG, which would be recognised by many readers familiar with writings of Solzhenitsin and others. In view of this, nowadays it is hard to read this as anything but a satire of Stalin's regime.

On the other hand, Grossman was a military journalist who advanced with the Red Army and, in particular, interviewed some Treblinka survivors. He definitely knew something about Nazi camps. He seems to talk about a forced labor camp, not an extermination camp, although the camp does have gas chambers and crematoria, and some inmates are selected to be executed. He also gives some details, like colour tags, characteristic for Nazi camps and uncharacteristic for GULAG.

Question: do any of the above points accurately describe Nazi policy and what happened in Nazi concentration camps? Or, at least, were the Nazi concentration camps commonly portrayed that way?


texts: Who were the chief executives of the United States in the thirteen years before George Washington?

texts:
Fully thirteen years passed after the Declaration of Independence before George Washington became President—first under Congress, then under the Articles of Confederation. It's a famous trivia fact that John Hancock was “president of the United States” before George Washington, but surely he couldn’t have been that for thirteen years.

WHO were the other chief executives (presidents of Congress) of the United States between the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and what was their legal status?


texts: Was Bhai Mati Das sawed in half on the orders of Aurangzeb?

texts:
The wikipedia entry about Bhai Mati Das mentions that he was sawed into two on the express orders of Aurangzeb (he was asked to convert to Islam). Is it true?

I have doubts because I haven't seen this in the list of criticisms that Aurangzeb usually receives in numerous articles, and because I have myself seen several entries on religiously sensitive articles on Wikipedia to be based on extremely late and propagandist accounts (especially about medieval history where the quality of Wikipedia articles is highly questionable). Additionally, sawing people in half is not a punishment that I have heard of being administered in this period in this part of the world at all.


texts: Is there historical evidence that Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism?

texts:
As far as I know, the only evidence having claim over the fact about Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism is the Ashokavadana, a work of the Buddhists themselves. Nor is this fact verifiable by Ashoka's Edicts or Pillars.

Do we have any independent evidence (documentary or otherwise), about Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism? Maybe through the writings of any of the Greek Historians like Megasthenes or somebody?


texts:
According to Muslim historians and others the nowadays known Kaaba/Cube الكعبة wasn't unique, and so apparently there have been many Kaabas around in the Arabic Peninsula, but the one in Mecca according the Wikipedia article was the only one made of Stone.

Muslim sources say that this was the original Kaaba while the others were copies made by tribes who wanted to have a similar "sacred building", yet none of them had or reached the importance and significance of the original one. They even add that the Abyssinian Negus/rulers, when conquering the Yemen and parts of the Peninsula, tried to establish a concurrent sanctuary (a church if I remember well), but failed and therefore tried to demolish the (Meccan) Kaaba.

My question is, when did the last of the other Kaabas disappear and how?


texts: What police department served the Kenwood neighborhood in Chicago in 1907?

texts: Today it's the 2nd District Police Department on Wentworth, but the building is new. Can anyone tell me (or recommend sources that might tell me) where the nearest police department was at the turn of the century? Thank you.


texts: What was the difference in the Goths between kings and chiefs/tribal leaders?

texts: According to some sources in Spanish, Ariarico was the first tervingio chief (tribal leader), being tervingios Gothic people from the III and IV centuries. And also according to some Spanish sources, Atanarico was considered by Visigoths to be their first King. As Atanarico was the grandson of Ariarico and commanded similar gothic tribes, why one is considered the "first chief" and the other the "first king". What is the difference?