texts: What activities for children were there in Paris in the 1930s (that were not also available in the countryside)?

texts:
I've been watching the show Les Grandes Grandes Vacances recently and in the first episode a 12 year old kid complains about the countryside being boring and wanting to go back to Paris.

This surprised me given that back then there was no internet, and almost no electronic entertainment that would make a city superior to the countryside for children.

When I think countryside I think climbing, swimming, tree houses, shenanigans with farm animals, collecting insects, exploring nature...

When I think city I think smoke, pollution, noise, bricks and grey and... well that's kind of it.

I tried to find out what kind of activities there were in Paris in the 1930s for children that would beat the countryside, but I didn't find anything in that regard. Since I don't speak any French, there are probably some sources inaccessible to me.

I kept the title of this question rather broad, as I am interested in learning about children activities in Paris in the 1930s in general, but I am specifically curious to learn why a kid in the 1930s would find a vacation in the countryside "boring" and wants to go back to Paris instead.


texts: Did the Ancient Egyptians understand the importance of the brain?

texts: I remember hearing recently that new research has suggested that the ancient Egyptians did not view the brain as a useless organ, and had a reason for disposing of it in the manner they did. I can't find references to this online, and am wondering if anyone on here knows about the validity or otherwise of this idea.


texts: Three rings (wreaths?) symbol in XIX century Russia

texts:
On some buildings in Moscow (and other cities in European part of Russia) there are carvings of three interconnected wreaths.

For example, some are on the Pushkin Museum building on Prechistenka:

This building was erected around 1814, but unfortunately I didn't find information about the meaning of the carvings (apart from the shield with emblem of the building original owners). As usual, people are blaming Masons and I wouldn't be surprised if it is a part of masonic symbolism, however, I didn't find anything exactly like that. I.e., IOOF symbol is similar, but it should be chain which would look different. It is also not Borromean Rings which should be interlocked.

So, where does this symbol come from?

A couple more images from other sites:


texts: Which bank was the oldest surviving bank in the world prior to MPS getting that status?

texts:
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. [...] (MPS) is the oldest surviving bank in the world [...]

Wikipedia: 1 (and 2, 3)

Assuming that this is correct, and using the same criteria, which was the latest bank to lose that status? And when did that happen?


texts: Why were there no increases in the train speed records between 1854-1934?

texts:
I and a couple other people were doing some stuff with some speed record data. Organizing the data, making some graphs, etc.

While doing the train speed records, though, we noticed an oddity. For some reason, there's an 80 year gap between when one record was set - 1854 - and when it was broken - 1934. The records go:

46 km/h (29 mph)     1829
48 km/h (30 mph)     1830
96.6 km/h (60 mph)   1848
125.6 km/h (78 mph)  1850
131.6 km/h (82 mph)  1854-06
166.6 km/h (104 mph) 1934-07-20
168.5 km/h (105 mph) 1935-03-05

This... doesn't really match the distribution for the rest of the records.

(speed is in meters per second)

So, being curious, I'm wondering: Why was there no increase in the speed record for 80 years? Was there no new technology being developed?


texts: Can the current British monarch be overthrown or otherwise replaced?

texts: Having read a few discussions regarding the Plantagenets and the ascending line of the monarchy since, I became curious about whether another group/family had a 'more' legitimate claim to the throne (asked and answered, though not sufficiently in my opinion) or if another family could become the monarch. I don't want to base a question on an assumption, but I am curious all the same if by whatever manner the Windsors could be replaced - for lack of a more appropriate term.


texts: Why were Austrian forces ineffective during the war of 1787 against Ottomans?

texts:
In the French Wikipedia article about Roger de Damas d'Antigny, it is said that this French officer was not satisfied by Austrian armies in the war against Ottoman empire, so he joined the Russian armies against the same opponent.
If I read information about this war of Austrian forces, between 1787 and 1792, the Austrian forces did not achieve significant success against Ottoman forces. Why is that?
The source for that is wikipedia, that says:

"[the Austrian emperor] was a poor strategist"
"The Ottoman raided the Austrian empperor"
"Austrian forces suffer losses and did not capture Ottoman territory"


texts: Was the "Mot Pulk" formation simply a propaganda ploy?

texts:
The "Mot Pulk" was a motorized formation used by the Germans during World War II.

Based on when it was introduced (after heavy defeats in the USSR) and the vague descriptions that I've found, it seems to me that its major use was as propaganda.

What was its military importance, if any?


texts: Did the Dutch carry out trials for collaboration with the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies?

texts:
After the Second World War, the Netherlands tried Dutch citizens for acts of collaboration with the German occupation.

Did they do the same (as the UK did on a limited scale in India and other areas of southeast Asia) for those accused of collaboration with the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies in the short period from 1945 until the Dutch recognition of Indonesian independence in 1949? If so, I'd welcome info on whether this was limited to colonial settlers or included local Indonesians, and anything written on this in Dutch or even better, in English.


texts: Was there significant interbreeding between Romans and Native Britons?

texts:
During the days of Roman occupation in Britain (43AD to 450AD), did the Roman occupants of Britain interbreed and intermarry with the native British population substantially (is not only a couple of cases but repeatedly)? If so, to what extent was the British population also derived from Roman stock?

I have already done some preliminary research and the results seem to be conflicting. One article from the Telegraph says that 1 million Britons have Roman DNA, and then another article states that:

  "there is little Roman DNA in the British genetic makeup".

How can both of these articles be correct? I'm particularly interested in contemporary sources if possible.


texts:
Was there an economical or political reason for the annexation of Hawaii by US in 1898?

It does not seem to me that Hawaii was a particularly wealthy place at that time. Did the US government need to distract its people for some reason? Or is it just that the bigger you are, the better for you and Hawaii Kingdom was simply colonised?

It's true that US has "claimed" Hawaii. But why would US claim such a barren land? Does it have some sort of strategic value, and if so, what would it be?


texts:
According to Wikipedia article about the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV:

  His second journey to Italy took place in 1368, when he had a meeting with Pope Urban VI at Viterbo, was besieged in his palace at Siena, and left the country before the end of the year 1369

Did this siege truly take place? Who besieged him and why? How did the siege end?


texts: When was the African National Congress added to the US terror list?

texts:
In 2008, the ANC was removed from the US terror list.
From BBC:

  US President George W Bush has signed a bill removing Nelson Mandela and South African leaders from the US terror watch list, officials say.

QUESTION: Since when had it been listed?

As I want to add the information to Wikipedia, a reference is necessary.


texts: Is there proof that John Proctor owned a tavern?

texts:
In the Crucible by Arthur Miller, he describes John Proctor as being in his thirties and an affluent landowner. In every website portraying him though, it says Proctor was in his 60s at the time of the Salem witch trials and was a tavern owner, as well as a landowner. None of the town maps of Salem show his tavern. What real proof (from a primary source) do we have of his birth date? Even his tombstone only has his date of death.

I want to write an essay about why Miller changed these facts but I need proof that they are accurate.


texts: Is "Friends, Romans, ..." a historical speech?

texts:
While searching for a canonical translation to my language of the phrase Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears I was surprised to find reference to it only in the Shakespeare play. As the play is based on historical events, was this a true historical quote or were the words concocted in the 16th century?

My intuition tells me that since the Wikipedia entry for the play does not have the words in Latin, that it is in fact not an historical quote. Is it?

Addendum: Since I'm not sure if this is a historical quote, it is off topic to ask about it here? If so, is there a better SE site to have asked on?


texts: When/how did Harry Truman give the order to bomb Hiroshima?

texts:
Am I correct in assuming that Truman and only Truman had the authority to order the bombing of Hiroshima? After all, it was the very first A-bomb and procedures may not have been formalized yet. It occurs to me that maybe a theater commander like Gen. MacArthur could have given the order.

Given that Truman was at Potsdam when he made the decision to bomb Hiroshima, did he have a secure method of communications to use to communicate his order from Potsdam? If so, what was that method? When was that order actually given? I'm guessing it was at least several days before the bombing since someone had to order the bomb moved to Tinian and a plane and flight crew chosen and assembled at Tinian.

Could Truman have aborted if he'd changed his mind? How late could he have successfully aborted? Right up until the bombardier pressed the "Bombs Away" button? Or would it have been early, say up until the moment Enola Gay left Tinian, after which it might have been running silent?

I realize this is all academic now but it's not impossible to imagine Truman having a change of heart and deciding not to bomb Hiroshima. Let's say the Japanese surrendered on August 4 because they could see that the war was lost. I'm curious how late he could abort the bombing if he'd really wanted to.


texts: Have there been other examples of reunification/annexation, such as in the Crimea, that succeeded without using deadly force?

texts:
I'm not trying to start a debate about if Russia's recent actions in the Crimea are legal or whether the majority of the population agrees with what has happened.  However, the action was successful partially because the Russian Troops did not use deadly force.  Are there other examples of similar successes due not using deadly force?

Please don't cite situations where in the end they ended in open warfare.


texts: Can anyone tell me if this is WW1 or WWII and what is the significance of it please. It has what looks like 99t on the back. What is that for.


texts: Why did textile mill owners during the industrial revolution keep their factory windows closed?

texts:
This is an excerpt from Harbinger, published in 1846 on the working conditions of mills in Lowell, MA and Manchester, NH:

  The atmosphere of such a room cannot of course be pure; on the contrary it is charged with cotton filaments and dust, which, we were told, are very injurious to the lungs. On entering the room, although the day was warm, we remarked that the windows were down. We asked the reason, and a young woman answered very naively, and without seeming to be in the least aware that this privation of fresh air was anything else than perfectly natural, that "when the wind blew, the threads did not work well." After we had been in the room for fifteen or twenty minutes, we found ourselves, as did the persons who accompanied us, in quite a perspiration, produced by a certain moisture which we observed in the air, as well as by the heat. . . .

The author implies that the young woman's answer is wrong and naive, and it does seem unlikely that the wind would disrupt the operation of heavy machinery. So why did mill owners keep their windows closed when doing so hurt workers' health? My guess would be that the owners did this to avoid inspections.


texts: Where did all the old discussions on Google Groups actually come from?

texts:
I have been sifting through old messages on the rec.games.chess archives part of Google Groups in particular, and I wondered where all of these messages from the '80s and '90s came from. To be specific, where the actual physical manifestations of them were/are.
According to Wikipedia, "Google Groups became operational in February 2001, following Google's acquisition of Deja's Usenet archive. Deja News had been operational since March 1995."
In addition, "The Google Groups archive of Usenet newsgroup postings dates back to 1981.[3] Through the Google Groups user interface, users can read and post to Usenet groups."
But where did all of these old messages (emails?) actually come from? What physical computer network locations where they all sourced from? Where were these messages all stored before the advent of the World Wide Web?
I find the Wiki, to be blunt, vague as hell, and I cannot seem to actually find any details anywhere. Sources and explanations would be helpful in particular. I have a very poor understanding of the early Internet, having been born into the modern age of cellphones and PCs.


texts: Is there any proof that Majapahit kingdom territory  consist of all area of Nusantara Archipelago (now Indonesia). What I know that the sole proof of this claim was the only book authoring by Mpu Tantular. But there are no something like 'prasasti' or similar. In fact there are some kingdom like Ternate Sultanate Or Even Samudra Pasai that coexist with and precede Majapahit establishment.


texts: Can someone clarify Livy's argument in Book 21, Chapter 19 of Ab Urbe Condita Libri?

texts:
Can someone clarify the following passage from Book 21, Chapter 19 of Livy's Ab Urbe Condita Libri? [This is the translation of Rev Canon Roberts, taken from the Perseus website]

  This straightforward question and threat of war seemed to be more
  consonant with the dignity of Rome than a wordy argument about
  treaties; it seemed so previous to the destruction of Saguntum, and
  still more so afterwards. [2] For had it been a matter for argument,
  what ground was there for comparing Hasdrubal's treaty with the
  earlier one of Lutatius? In the latter it was expressly stated that it
  would only be of force if the people approved it, whereas in
  Hasdrubal's treaty there was no such saving clause. [3] Besides, his
  treaty had been silently observed for many years during his lifetime,
  and was so generally approved that, even after its author's death,
  none of its articles were altered. [4] But even if they took their
  stand upon the earlier treaty-that of Lutatius-the Saguntines were
  sufficiently safeguarded by the allies of both parties being exempted
  from hostile treatment, for nothing was said about "the allies for the
  time being" or anything to exclude "any who should be hereafter taken
  into alliance." [5] And since it was open to both parties to form
  fresh alliances, who would think it a fair arrangement that none
  should be received into alliance whatever their merits, or that when
  they had been received they should not be loyally protected, on the
  understanding that the allies of the Carthaginians should not be
  induced to revolt, or if they deserted their allies on their own
  accord were not to be received into alliance by the others?

From the content of the previous chapter, it appears that he is criticising the Carthaginian Senate's response to a Roman embassy (sent to declare the Second Punic War). What exactly does Livy mean by each of his sentences?


texts: How often did city-destroying floods happen in Mesopotamia?

texts:
I keep seeing Mesopotamia described as a floodplain, and I'm finding inklings of evidence that some cities in ancient Mesopotamia were actually destroyed by floods.  But how common of an occurrence was this?  And when did these floods stop, since I've never heard of modern Iraqi cities being wiped out by floods?

Ideally, I'm looking for an answer that would cover Mesopotamia during the 4th and 3rd millenia BC.  And, as always, evidence is preferred over conjecture.


texts: What were English 'rules restricting marriage'?

texts:
I am reading the book by Steven LeBlanc and Katherine Register, Constant battles, (2003).
It is about history of warfare, but on p. 165 I found the mysterious sentence:

  For example, rules can be passed and enforced restricting marriage to people with enough wealth to set up a
  household, as was the case in England,

Can anyone explain what they mean? I've never heard about "rules restricting marriage" on the basis of wealth, in England, or any other Christian country. Unfortunately they do not specify the time period. They mention existence of such rules at least twice in the book, as something known, without giving any further detail.

Edit. I summarize the prevailing opinion in this long discussion: the authors made this up. No such rules were ever "passed and enforced".


texts: What is the meaning behind this Panama joke published in a 1914 newspaper?

texts:
The following was published in a column of jokes in The Washington Herald on May 10, 1914:

But as a matter of fact the real Panama hats are not nearly as pretty as the imitation ones.

I assume the joke has something to do with the opening of the Panama Canal, but I'm still not sure what it means.


texts: Economic status of whites in the US South at the height of slavery?

texts:
In Tony Horwitz' book Midnight Rising about John Brown's raid, on page 23 discusses Calhoun's stance on slavery: he asserted that slavery freed Whites from drudgery and class conflict.

I wonder if at any point in history that was true: That slavery provided for Whites the sort of society that some see will result from the widespread use of robots in the near future although of course some are frightened of this possibility.

I would guess that Calhoun's assertion was propaganda and that in fact there were many poor Whites who indeed experienced drudgery and class conflict -- I am certain that this existed in places and times but perhaps there were small communities in which slaves did all the unpleasant tasks and Whites were able to do what they wanted.

EDIT: I am of course aware that there were poor whites living in the South, who, not owning slaves, had to work for a living, perhaps doing the same sort of work as slaves performed. But again, as I mentioned already, perhaps there were areas where all drudgery was done by slaves -- I think Calhoun grew up on a plantation so he might have been insulated from drudgery, much as a modern wealthy person might be but either he was clueless or being disingenuous when he implied that slavery eliminated drudgery and class conflict among whites -- surely he must have known of poor whites who lived in the South?


texts: How to find the image of a 17th century music instruments manufacture?

texts:
How to find on Goolge Images search an image of 17th or 18th century manufacture? The drawing (or lithography) was showing a hall with people sitting around and building music instruments. I have seen this image once but cannot find it anymore. Thanks for help!

Expected answers are example search entries or maybe someone knows this image. Similar drawings hints are welcomed as well.


texts: Why did Switzerland not grant votes to women until 1971?

texts:
I was shocked to learn yesterday that Switzerland didn't grant votes to women until 1971. Other European foot-draggers like France granted this right at the end of the second world war, making Switzerland over 25 years later than its cultural counterparts.

On doing a little research, it seems that the commonly accepted explanation is a peculiarity of Switzerland's statute book. Changes to the constitution can only be ratified via a referendum of existing voters. These were of course men: so it took until 1971 to persuade a majority of male Swiss voters to grant women the vote.

I feel uneasy about this explanation for two reasons. Firstly, although the referendum requirement is unusual, voting rights for women must obviously have been passed via all-male governments in all the other states which implemented it decades before the Swiss. Second, one would assume that voting rights for women were an uncontentious issue elsewhere in Western Europe well before the 1970's. If so, that still seems an unusually long time for the Swiss to copy the commonly accepted societal norms of their cultural peers.

So: were there any deeper reasons as to why it took so long for Switzerland to implement women's suffrage?


texts: Why the USSR insisted on ban of the 1943 German film Munchhausen in Nuremberg?

texts:
After the war, many German films were shown in the USSR, popularly known as "trophy films", this included the 1944 "The Woman of My Dreams" which was shown until mid-1950s.

At the same time the Soviets staunchly insisted on international ban on "Munchhausen".

The official pretext I believe was that it showed Munchhausen to have an adultery with Russian empress Catherine the Great which was perceived as anti-Russian. But this is quite surprising given that

The Soviets anyway had negative attitude towards Russian monarchy.
The empress anyway was known for adultery and having many lovers and favorites.
The story is told from the person of Munchhausen who is a known liar and exaggerator which hints the story may be an invention by Munchausen similarly to flying on a cannon ball and travel to the Moon.

The other version or real motives may be that of anti-Semitic overtone regarding Jewish-Italian count Cagliostro. Cagliostro is portrayed with a vampire-like face and the hint that he is Jewish is quite transparent, although never mentioned directly. In one scene he even says that Munchhausen's nose profile is better suitable for printing on coins.

But this scene could be easily cut off and in the second encounter with Munchhausen Cagliostro is portrayed differently: as a talented medic and scientist, expert in art and man of honour. The plot features a deep friendship between Munchhausen and Cagliostro so that Munchhausen even came to his friend to warn him about threat of arrest by the authorities. Cagliostro says "the Kanzler himself pursuits me". Although the Russian Empire had an office of State Kanzler at the time, this is a transparent hint at Hitler. Cagliostro thanks Munchhausen, gifts him an eternal youth and a ring of invisibility, becames invisible himself, pushes the Kanzler's soldiers who came to arrest him and disappears.

That said the film in general does not seem to contradict the Soviet ideology very much.
Other scenes feature a corrupted Venetian doge which remarkably resembles Mussolini and uses inquisition secret police in an attempt to kill Munchhausen. In one scene he talks to a scientist who says that he serves only the science and not politics. The doge replies "keep this misconception, it will be our trump".

In one scene the Munchhausen's lover gets be imprisoned in a monastery by her brother, which is perceived as a tragedy. It adds some an anti-religious feeling to the film. In another scene the sultan secretely drinks alcohol and says to Munchhausen that he does so when nobody sees.

In yet another scene when the new wives to the sultan's harem are tested in military conscription like manner a black woman is shown to have better teeth than a white one, so that the white one is envy.

One more reason may be that Munchhausen explains his own theory of subhumans. According to him, anybody who does not know the principles of the universe, how the stars move and other scientific truths can be called a subhuman. This does not convey any racial meaning and shows a pro-scientific attitude which was very characteristic for the USSR propaganda as well. So I doubt this could be the reason.

So what was the actual reason and why?


texts: How long did it take the Thule people to migrate from Alaska to Greenland?

texts:
The Thule people, ancestors of today's Inuit, are said to have migrated or spread from their homeland in Alaska all the way to Greenland in the far east.

How long did this migration take?  Was it within a single lifetime?  Did it take many generations?

I've seen various articles for laymen that claim this migration took anywhere from as little as two years to as much as two centuries.

What's the current academic consensus on this one?


texts: What calendar did the Maruyan Empire use?

texts:
Research has brought up conflicting answers to this question and the answers I have gotten are generally confusing and poorly written.

I'm wondering what calendar the Mauryan Empire used and what year Ashoka was born in, in accordance to that calendar.


texts: Travelling to Germany in the 19th Century from London

texts:
The time period I'm working with is the 1890s, and try as I might I'm really struggling to find the details I need, specifically how long it would take to travel from London to Leipzig at that time.
Also, I'd love to know what kind of accommodation would a middle-class person have expected on the ship itself? Individual cabins or would they have been crammed in? I assume the ships themselves would have been steam-powered by that time.
Anyway, any information on either of these things - or just travelling to and from Germany during that time in general - would be immensely appreciated.

Thanks!


texts: Discrimination against Catholics in Northern Ireland pre-1968

texts: The NICRA sought to prevent discriminatory allocation of government jobs and council housing. The victims of such discrimination were the Catholic/Republican minority - at least, that's how that minority would be construed during the Troubles, once religious differences became convenient labels for the political factions. But how was such discrimination practised before that? For example, how was the oppressed group defined, and how were people identified as members of it?


texts: How did Maximilien de Robespierre lose control of his Reign of Terror and die by the guillotine?

texts:
Maximilien de Robespierre was one of the best influential figures of the French Revolution and died at the young age of only 36. He started the Reign of Terror and the tool of his Terror was the guillotine. Ironically, he lost control in the ensuing chaos and ended up under the guillotine himself.

How did Maximilien de Robespierre lose control of something he himself started and died by the guillotine, a device employed by himself to terrorize others? What were the factors that contributed to his downfall?


texts: About how many fighting men was Henry the Fowler, King of East Frankia (919 - 936) and Duke of Saxony (912 - 936) able to field during a given campaign?


texts: Are there cultures without knowledge of how babies are made?

texts:
I know that there are many cases of cultures having whacky ideas of how exactly babies are made, however in most of these cases they still link the creation of babies to having sex (however weird the link may be). My question is the following:

Is there any strong evidence of historical (or current) cultures, in which the link between sex and the creation of babies was not understood in the slightest?

If not, I would accept an answer that comes the closest. Thank you.

(I apologize if this is the wrong stack exchange, I tried looking for what I deemed the most fitting)


texts: What era is this German 10 DM banknote from?

texts:
Exactly what it says on the tin. This is clearly a German 10 mark note of some kind, but I can't find pictures online of any notes like it.

The reverse is completely blank, with some bleed-through from the "DRINGEND" stamp. The white balance on my camera is rather off, and the note is actually far more yellowish than the photo implies.

So, the question is twofold:

What era is this note from?
What is the meaning of the stamps?


texts: Why didn't the discrepancy in the Kursk casualty ratio work against the Soviets?

texts:
According to conventional wisdom, Soviet to German loss ratio at Kursk and immediately after in Soviet offensives was around 3:1 in men, and 5:1 (or more) in armored vehicles (tanks and self-propelled guns). Everybody recognizes Kursk as one of turning points of war, after that Germans were constantly in retreat, mounting only localized counter-offensives (one exception would be Operation spring Awakening, but that was desperate gamble late in the war that failed) .

Yet, there is glaring discrepancy with apparent Soviet success and casualty ratio. In the summer of 1943 Soviets didn't have 3 times larger manpower pool then Germans. Germans still held large parts of SU, blocking conscription from those areas, not to mention Soviet catastrophic losses in 1941.

With the tanks situation is even worse, Soviet AFV production plus Lend Lease was never 5 times bigger then German. Therefore, with 3:1 loses in manpower, and 5:1 in armored vehicles, Germans should be in better shape compared to Soviets after Kursk then they were before.

Question is, how could we reconcile apparently enormous Soviet losses and their limited production and manpower pool, with the fact that after summer of 1943 they were constantly in offensive all the way to Berlin ?


texts: Were there trains to anonymous concentration camps?

texts:
At the start of this year, my family visited Terezin Ghetto and camp - the middle daughter was writing a school report about children in WWII. There were many dreadful and surprising pieces of information that we had not met in books. But all of them were explainable and understandable, at least in that horror context. All except one.

Listening to the statistics of trains from Terezin ghetto to various concentration camps (not reading, it was a movie), it was easy to notice, that even going to Auschwitz was not the worst variant. 2-3% of people from every train to Osvetim remained to live. (Due to the fast overtaking of Auschwitz by the Russian army). There was not a single train to the known destination, all passengers of which died.

But among other trains with known destinations, there were trains to unnamed and unnumbered camps. Firstly, it is strange by itself, why Germans with their Ordnung hadn't registered the target of several (4-6, I don't remember the exact number) trains? Secondly, all the people sent to all these anonymous camps got lost. Not a single one remained. Obviously, these two points are not connected accidentally. Nazis were hiding something. Maybe, it was only one anonymous camp...

Notice, it is not about the "death trains", used to kill people at the end of the war, in 1945. It is another time, the peak of the war (42-44), tens of trains were filled and sent to named camps. And as for the death trains, they had passengers that were saved. The mortality was not 100%.

So, what were these trains to anonymous camps with 100% mortality?


texts: Why was the Scout movement so successful?

texts:
I find it amazing how fast the scout movement spread after its creation. What I got from Wikipedia: Robert Baden-Powell became famous (rightly or not) at home for his activity in the British Army. When he learned that his military book "Aids to Scouting" had become popular outside the military, he wrote "Scouting for Boys" and started the Boy Scout movement. Just two years later, there were 100,000 boy scouts in groups around the world, including groups in more than ten countries outside the British dominions.

I could imagine various reasons for this success (people wanting to counteract the negative effects of industrialization etc.), but these are just guesses and I would love to hear more informed explanations.

(Sorry for the generic tags. Couldn't find better ones)


texts: Throughout history, how many wars have there been between Russia and Japan?

texts: Do both countries have a particluar hot spot that existed in the past, and if so, does it still exist now? Have their wars historically been bloody or transient, and are they now considered "friends"?


texts:
What is the etymology of the Greek family name Petrochilos (Πετρόχειλος).
I got so far that Petro could mean Peter. And that Chilos
could mean mush. But what is the combined meaning?


texts: How did the French take the Republican Calendar?

texts:
I've been wondering what the reactions were in France to the new Republican Calendar. When I learned about it in school, it seemed ridiculously overzealous to me, and this notion hasn't left me since. Has it been common among the French people of that era too?

I know that many French workers disliked the new calendar because it gave them a free day every ten days instead of every seven days. But did they use it in they everyday lives nevertheless? Who actually used it and for what purposes? I imagine most seven-day cycles in France's social life must have been too strongly ingrained in the people to be easily removed. Is that correct?


texts: How did Jerusalem function as an ancient city without a major water source?

texts:
Jerusalem seems to be an exception to the rule that all ancient cities must either be on a river or freshwater lake.

First settlement is estimated at 3500 BC.

The nearest major river as far as I can tell from maps seems to be the Jordan River, at ~12mi.


texts: What happened to the french overseas colonies during the beginning of the french revolution?

texts:
While I understand that Paris and then most of France got swept up in revolutionary fervor. What happened in its far flung colonies, such as the Antilles, India, North America, Africa and even Polynesia? How did revolutionary France maintain these possessions from being snapped up by other powers that be, or simply them declaring independence, or maintaining their allegiance to the « Ancien Régime » ?

The specific time period I am interested in is that of 1791 to 1795.


texts: Religious sectarianism as the primary cause of the Bosnian War

texts:
For the past months, I have been doing empirical research  on

whether religious sectarianism was the primary source of the Bosnian War (Serbs X Croats X Bosniaks X Albanians);
whether this religious war lead to a biased educational system in those ex-Yugoslav societies.

Relying on available subjects through internet research and creating a questionnaire that was spread in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Albania/Kosovo, helped me get to what the people think of this conflict and its influence in current days. I have come to a place where i need professional opinion and here so i think you can help me get my answers to those 2 theories above. Thank you.


texts: Did Germany lose World War II when/because "kill ratios" started moving "against" her?

texts:
In the first major action between the Germans and Americans, at the battle of Kasserine Pass , the Germans inflicted casualties against (mostly) the inexperienced Americans at the rate of about 5 to 1. Fortunately, the Americans were able to improve substantially on this ratio in the days and weeks ahead.

The early American experience was by no means atypical; the Poles suffered physical casualties of between 3 and 4 to 1 in 1939, with this rising to about 15 to 1 counting prisoners.  Allied to German casualty rates in France 1940 were similarly lopsided.

In the first few months of the 1941 campaign, the Soviets suffered casualties at six or seven times the German rate.

With the notable exception of Kasserine Pass, where American artillery held the day, the massive German kill ratios (in Poland in 1939, in France in 1940, and in the Soviet Union in 1941) were accompanied by massive territorial gains.

This ratio fell steadily in 1942, with the Soviet to German casualty ratio of roughly 2 to 1, in line with their respectively populations, at the "turning point" campaign of Stalingrad. Diminishing kill ratios accompanied "diminishing returns" for the Germans in 1942.

In a war between 80 million (ethnic) Germans on one side, 130 million Americans,  170 million Soviets, and 50 million Britishers on the other, the Germans would have won if they could inflict casualties at the rate of 5 to 1 (or "better") on the Allies throughout the war, the latter' superiority in manpower and material notwithstanding. The Soviets, British, and Americans won because they were able to bring their loss ratios below their overall numerical preponderance.

Have any historical accounts tied Germany's early successes to the their massive early "kill ratios," and their subsequent lack of success to the fact that their "kill ratios" fell below their overall numerical disadvantage?


texts: Why did ZANU (instead of ZAPU) come to power after the Rhodesian Bush War?

texts:
Given recent events in Zimbabwe I am curious about the country's origins, and have been reading various articles on Wikipedia.  Principally this on the Rhodesian Bush War.

I would like to know why PRC supported ZANU won, and Soviet supported ZAPU lost?  As I understand it, the following seem to be important factors:

Firstly, ZAPU's strategy was to build conventional forces, and use them to backstab ZANU when they were on the cusp of a military victory over Rhodesia.  ZAPU did not anticipate a mediated peace and hand over from white minority rule to majority rule which would unite Rhodesian and ZANU military forces against them. (Formerly Rhodesian soldiers and ZAPU militants together stopped the Entumbane Uprising by ZAPU in 1981.)

Secondly, ZANU's leader Robert Mugabe was Shona, who were by far the largest of Zimbabwe's black ethnicities.  ZAPU's leader Joshua Nkomo was Ndebele, who were an ethnic minority.  This infused an otherwise ideological struggle between Marxist-Leninist ZAPU and Maoist ZANU with tribal loyalties, relegating the former to an unsustainable minority position.

By the time the war ended, ZAPU/ZAPRA and ZANU/ZANLA had comparable military power, so was the primary issue tribal loyalty in favour of ZANU, and strategy which undermined ZAPU?  Did the Soviets/Chinese simply get lucky and unlucky allies respectively?  Or did they make good and bad decisions about who their allies would be?  I assume neither power had that much influence or control on the ground.  Did they incorrectly assume ideology rather than tribalism would be the biggest factor? Why did ZAPU not win the peace when their strategy had been focused on diplomacy?


texts: Can you tell me about this coin? श्री महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाहदेव 2012. i.e in English Sri Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev 2012

texts: This is a photo of both sides of the coin.


texts: Was there a town called Munich in Jackson County, Tennessee?

texts:
According to a patent called Eye-protector for chickens, it was patented by Andrew Jackson, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing in Munich, in the county of Jackson, State of Tennessee.

To all whom, it may concern: Be it known that I, ANDREW JACKSON,
Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Munich, in the county
of Jackson, State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful
Improvements in Eye-Protectors for Chickens; and I do hereby declare
the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the
invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it
appertains to make and use the same.

Tried to search about this town/city but didn't find anything more than this patent.


texts: Is 'quartodecimo omnium sanctorum' the same as 'Nov XIV' on this Latin grave inscription?

texts:
I have been translating the Latin inscription on a 19th century tomb in the parish churchyard, Mitcham, south west London, UK. I'm using a Latin dictionary and a 'Latin Made Simple' book I bought many years ago, as well as online resources. I have been able to translate the inscription but have a hit a problem in what looks like a duplication.
The tomb is of Richard Cranmer, who died in 1828, and is listed grade 2 by Historic England. In addition, his daughter and widow are in the tomb, and their names are listed below his.

The inscription reads

HIC IACENT
RICARDVS CRANMER LLB HVIVS ECCLESIAE PAROCHVS QVI OBIIT
DIE FESTO OMNIVM SANCTORVM A.D. MDCCCXXVIII AET XLIV
ESTHER MARIA LOVISA CRANMER FILIA EIVSDEM NATV MINOR
QVAE OBIIT DIE OCTAVO OMN SANCT A.D. MDCCCXLI AET XVII
ELISABETHA MARIA CRANMER EIVSDEM RCI VIDVA OVAE OBIIT
DIE QVARTODECIMO OMN SANCT NOV XIV A.D. MDCCCXLV AET XLV
REQVIESCANT IN PACE
AMEN

I have translated this as

Here lies

Richard Cranmer, L.L.B., pastor of the church, who died

on the Feast Day of All Saints 1828, at the age of 44

Esther Mary Louise Cranmer, his young daughter

who died on the eighth day of All Saints 1841, at the age of 17

Elizabeth Mary Cranmer, his widow, who died

on the 14th day of All Saints November 14 1845, at the age of 45

May they rest in peace

The duplication is the date for the third occupant of the tomb, Elizabeth Mary Cranmer. DIE QVARTODECIMO OMN SANCT I have translated as the 14th day of All Saints, which I take to be 14th November. If I have that right, then why is this followed with NOV XIV which is the same date?
It does seem odd to me that they all died around the same time of year, so have I got the OMNIUM SANCTORUM wrong as a date?
I haven't found a translation of this anywhere else, and have looked at British History Online as well as the Mitcham History Series of books by the late Eric Montague, of the Merton Historical Society.
Any help is appreciated. I aim to produce a video of the tomb and want to add the correct translation of its inscription.


texts: When were the first deaths from the Spanish Flu Pandemic?

texts:
I've found information about the first newspaper articles featuring information about the Spanish Flu Pandemic from this link but one of the quotations from the newspaper says:

  “The epidemic is of a mild nature; no deaths having been reported”.*

That's from April in 1918.

I'm just wondering when the first report of deaths from the disease happened?


texts: Who is Alexandra K. Trenfor? Is this quote accurate?

texts:
There is a well-known quote flying around the internet attributed to a person named Alexandra K. Trenfor:

  “The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don't tell you what to see.” - Alexandra K. Trenfor

But who is this person? When trying to verify that this quote is indeed hers, I find several sites, motivational images etc. referencing her as the author - but I find myself unable to find any information about her. That name never appears anywhere.

During the search I came across several other sites with similar confusion about who this person is. One site turned the mystery into a larger search by its members that has been going on since 2012; they still haven't found any clue as to who she is.

I am now asking if anyone on the Stack Exchange forum network knows about this person (who appears to be not as famous as initially assumed). Do anyone know the origin of this quote and who this person is - did she really say this?


texts:
What would have been the typical drinks for a US farmer in the late 18th/early 19th century?

I have read a lot about cider being a frequent drink, but it is not a common drink now in the United States. Also whiskey is described as something imported from the east (Atlantic ocean coast) around civil war / western movies era - but moonshine is really easy to make.

Did the drinks typically enjoyed change at some point? If yes, when?


texts: Why weren't the Faroe Islands ever conquered by Britain?

texts:
Here are the Faroe Islands:

According to the history I read, they've always been under Denmark's control except in the middle of WWII.

Why weren't these ever conquered by Britain? They seem close enough, almost as close as the Shetland Islands (which have been Scottish and/or British since the 1300's).

Particularly after the Seven Years War (1762), when Britain's Navy was becoming hugely dominant, why weren't they taken? There was also the French Revolution, Gunboat War, and the War of the 6th Coalition, all of which saw Britain and Denmark-Norway on opposite sides.

From what I read, there was a trading monopoly on the Faroes, so there was at least economic incentive.

I might also ask the same thing about Iceland or Greenland for similar reasons.


texts: Were the officers assigned to Kamchatka being punished?

texts:
The Russian Imperial army and navy had to build frontier outposts in very remote locations such as Kamchatka. During the Catherine the Great/Paul/Alexander period (1762-1825), the few ostrogs and ports there had just a handful of officers.

Krusenstern wrote that "none but officers whose conduct is deserving of punishment are sent" to Kamchatka. An involuntary trip there was a famous punishment for political and criminal offenders, possibly including the soldiers in those garrisons. However, the Empire seemingly relied on the table-ranked officers to protect its assets and reputation.

Were the few military officers there really sent as a punishment?


texts: Were there inns and hostels in medieval Europe?

texts:
In fantasy novels or roleplaying games it is very common for the characters to stay a night at an inn, hostel or tavern. But I'm curious of what it was like for real in medieval times. I'm particularly interested in Britain, but any references to other parts of northern Europe are interesting as well, like France and Germany, or eastern Europe for that matter.

I know that in Roman Britain they had, so called mansio that were run by the Roman government and meant for Roman officials, like tax collectors, to stay in on their travels to the far reaches of the Empire. Some of these even had bath houses.

But what happened after the Romans left, and we enter the so called "Dark Ages"? During Anglo-Saxon times the feudal system started to rise with Jarls and Thegn, but how much freedom of travel did people have in this period, and was there any need for travel? Didn't most people have a farm to take care of and lived a mostly self-sufficient life? I guess there were markets and fairs now and then where they sold surplus produce (if any) and that required some amount of travel.

In Norman times after 1066, weren't most villeins bound to their village in the Manor, and only a few freemen where allowed to leave the manor and travel? So how much need was there for inns and hostels and would there be enough travelers to make it a viable business? I suppose nobles had more liberty to travel, but would they settle for an inn in a village or would they rather stay at another noble's manor house or castle?

Did this change later during the period? The middle ages spans almost 1000 years so I suppose a lot of things changed during this time? What about during the Plantagenet dynasty and the Tudor period?

After the black death and the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 I can imagine that the travel ban was not so strictly enforced, and perhaps foreign trade had increase by now so that there were more merchants in the country, doing a lot more traveling.

In the Mediterranean world hostels seemed more common; even the Bible mentions an inn in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, where a Samaritan takes a wounded traveller to an inn and leaves him there with a few coins for the innkeeper to take care of him.

But the restriction on commoners by the feudal system in northern and eastern Europe seems to have made traveling more difficult and thus lodging a rather uneconomic business. Am I right?


texts: Was Mimar Sinan of Greek Christian origin?

texts:
Mimar Sinan was perhaps the greatest and most famous architect in Turkish History. He was born at the end of the 1400s and lived nearly 100 years. His style essentially defined Ottoman architectural aesthetics during the 1500s-(especially during the rule of Suleiman The Magnificent), though his architectural legacy is still visible into the present-day.

It is known that Mimar Sinan was a Janissary and had joined the Janissary Corps in 1512 at around the age of 22-23 and in turn, converted to Islam. It is also known as Sinan was born and raised in Cappadocia-(or Central Turkey).  During Sinan's time, the region of Cappadocia had three populations: Turks, Armenians and Greeks.  The Cappadocia Turkish population were comprised of centuries old Christian converts to Islam, as well as a smaller percentage of Central Asian Turks who arrived in this region 800 years ago and also converted to Islam. Despite some Christian conversions to Islam, there were still Christian communities who retained their faith while living in Ottoman Cappadocia. However, was Mimar Sinan part of the Christian convert population within Cappadocia and more specifically, was he originally of a Greek Christian background?

If one looks at many of Sinan's most famous buildings, particularly the Mosques he designed, you clearly see the Byzantine Christian architectural influence-(though they are bereft of iconography and instead, have intricately designed geometric patterns). Nevertheless, the Byzantine Christian architectural influence is quite visible. Does this Byzantine influence and orientation, which was central to many of Mimar Sinan's architectural works, ultimately prove, that Mimar Sinan was originally of Greek Christian descent? Or is making such a connection an exaggeration, a stretch of the historical imagination and lacking a credible and legitimate historical foundation?


texts: Were there more than 4 River Valley Civilizations?

texts:
If you graduated U.S. Public School education system(k-12), you might have learned about the 4 great River Valley Civilizations: Indus, HuangHe, Nile, Euphrates. They were basically the birthing ground for Modern Eurasian and African (and American) history.

There are a lot of other river valleys in the world and I was wondering if anyone here knows a thing or 2 about them. If you do, can you provide any articles (or internet links) that has evidence indicating the existence of other Early River Valley Civilizations.

--Also is this a question I can ask on this Stack Exchange? Thanks in advance.


texts: Did any historically known figure produce such a quote?

texts:
I ran into a quote (or a paraphrase) in a book that I couldn't ever attribute:

  A state that is not able to feed itself and is dependent on food imports cannot be considered a formidable foe.

While the book itself is fiction, it has 20-30 other quotes/paraphrases used in similar manner that are, indeed, accurate, even when unattributed; and not a single other case of made-up quote. This leads me to believe that the line above is indeed from a real historical statement.

However, my Google-fu produced almost nothing.

The only remotely close thing was from "Another Sheaf", by John Galsworthy, discussing the decline of agriculture in England:

  Consider the town-ridden, parasitic condition of Great Britain—the country which cannot feed itself. If we are beaten in this war, it will be because we have let our industrial system run away with us; because we became so sunk in machines and money-getting that we forgot our self-respect. No self-respecting nation would have let its food-growing capacity and its country life down to the extent that we have.

Question: Was there another statement closer to the one quoted by me made by a historical figure or in literature?

As a note: The scope is unfortunately somewhat unlimited as the author is very well read and the quotes in the book are from all over the place geographically, chronologically and source-wise... but the likelyhood is that it was said either in English or Russian.


texts: Can anyone identify this uniform, approximate year, and aircraft?

texts: It's U.S. from the interwar years, but I don't know much more than that.


texts: Has the UK ever used the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987 to enter an embassy without approval?

texts:
The Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987 allows the UK to remove the diplomatic status of any place.

Has the UK already used this act to enter an embassy/consulate/etc?
They recently threatened to do so.

Related but more general question: Has any foreign embassy ever been entered without permission?


texts: Why did Laurent-Désiré Kabila start the Second Congo War?

texts: During the Second Congo War, numerous Rwandan sources report that Laurent-Désiré Kabila commenced the Second Congo War. In contrast, other sources and Human rights activists stated Rwanda and Uganda backed Laurent-Désiré Kabila to invade Congo so that they can access the natural resources of Congo. My question is whether Laurent-Désiré Kabila began the Second Congo War, or was it a plan by Paul Kagame and Yoweri Museveni?


texts: Was the house of representatives really as rowdy a place as it is portrayed in the 2012 film Lincoln?

texts:
In the 2012 film Lincoln the House of Representatives is portrayed as being a  rather rowdy and disorderly place. There are frequent interruptions of the person holding the floor, lots of booing and vociferous applauding. Third party arguments even irrupted at one point if I remember correctly.

Is there any historical evidence that the House was really such a disorderly place?

Unfortunately there aren't any good clips of the movie online that show these parts, this short clip was as good as I could get: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTwKOCILJl0


texts: What is the oldest regulation in the world regarding a head of state?

texts:
With a regulation I mean something akin to a constituional codex. It doesn't have to be a constitution per se, but it should outline the head of state's limitations or privileges. The oldest I have found so far is a Japanese law called Kinchu narabi ni Kuge Shohatto appr. Some regulations for the Inner Sanctum (emperor) and Aristocracy, 禁中並公家諸法度. I'm curious to know if there exists something even older out there in some other country, or if this is the first occurrence of an outside force imposing its will on a head of state.

Obviously this kind of regulation, especially if older than 1615 is no longer relevant to the constitutional status of whatever country we wold be talking about. The Japanese regulation was imposed by the warrior estate on the emperor and aristocracy, two entities that were considered "above them" (other terms used at the time are "above the clouds" and "Heaven"), hence I am interested to know if there were any regulations in other countries imposed from below that predates the Japanese version. Basically the Japanese regulation aimed to take the emperor and aristocracy out of the political process and relegate them to ceremonial roles. In Europe it was a process that, to me at least, started with the French Revolution. Thus the Japanese were almost two centuries ahead in that process. But what about other Asian or African countries, or had something similar been done among Aztecs and Incas? This I don't know and Wikipedia or Google can't really provide any answers to this question.

Why do I use the cumbersome Head of State? Simply because there were other forms than Kings or Queens at this time or before. Sultans, Khalifs, Indian Chief, Maharaja, Emperors and whatnot.


texts: Who were some famous Vietnam War Hawks and Doves?

texts: Who were some famous people who opposed/supported the Vietnam War?


texts: In the American civil war, did junior officers join the battle with a rifle?

texts:
I was asked at a event event whether or not junior officers may have used a rifle or musket during battle. I haven't seen any evidence in several archive records I've searched.

My speculation is that it's possible, as many of the junior company officers (1st or 2nd Lieutenants) may have been either recent cadet grads or senior cadets of a military academy.

Also, I could see the possibility that a cadet could also be used for sharpshooting, especially early on in the war.

Any thoughts?


texts: Did Nazi leaders consider continuing guerrilla warfare after the collapse of Germany?

texts:
In July 1944, von Rundstedt was relieved of command in the Western front for expressing the opinion that the war was lost. This opinion must have been shared by the most of (the reasonable part of) Nazi leadership. The actual collapse of the Reich did not come until 10 months later, which is plenty of time to start thinking of 'what next'.

In some cases (most notably in Iraq war), the military collapse of state was followed by prepared and pre-planned guerilla warfare. Granted, modern standards of avoiding civilian casualties make the guerilla/terroristic warfare far more efficient, but even back then, there were successful guerillas (most notably Yugoslavian), and even under as cruel a power as Soviet Union, and no external support, the Ukrainian and Lithuanian nationalistic militant undergrounds existed through the late 1950s.

Preparing for guerilla warfare would be in line with Hitler's 'fighting till the end' stance, and for many Nazi leaders, it would be the only alternative to death by surrender and death by cyanide pill. The well-developed underground would probably increase their chance of survival (cf. Saddam who was not captured until 6 months after collapse of his regime). Given how difficult de-nazification was, they would probably enjoy large-scale support of all levels of devotion, including sympathies of the majority of the population.

Still, I never encountered anything about planning and/or implementation of (preparation for) guerilla warfare. Were there people in the Nazi leadership who argued for that or tried to persuade Hitler? If not, why?

Edit: It is true that Hitler did not appear to think he was losing the war until two days before committing suicide, and surely few would confront him after the July 20th coup about that. However, surely some of the Nazi leaders did, and to set up guerilla underground  one would just have to convince Hitler that it would be a valuable preparation for defeating the Allies if they enter some parts of Germany, without need to talk about the overall defeat. So, the question as to why it hasn't been done or attempted stands.


texts: What are some good sources on the everyday life of Soviet troops during WWII?

texts:
Imagine I wanted to get a basic understanding what the everyday life of a Soviet soldier (especially infantry, tank units, air force) during WWII was like.

What books and other resources in English, German, and Russian contain information on this?


texts: What's Mussolini's first known statement about Hitler?

texts: Hitler became internationally known after the beer hall putsch in 1923. When did he first come to Mussolini's attention, and what did he say?


texts: What was the most effective instrument used to disenfranchise the black population in Louisiana?

texts:
According to the Wikipedia page on Jim Crow Laws:

In Louisiana, by 1900, black voters were reduced to just 5,320 on the rolls, although they comprised the majority of the states population. By 1910, there were just 730 blacks registered, less than 0.5% of those eligible to vote.
"In 27 of the states parishes not one single black voter was registered. In a further 9 parishes, just a single black voter was registered."
The cumulative effect in North Carolina was that no blacks were registered to vote during the period 1896-1904 ... In Alabama, tens of thousands of poor white were affected although they had been promised that the new restrictions would not affect them ... those who could not vote were not eligible to serve on juries or run for local office, they effectively disappeared from political life.
Note: the quotation above is from Democracy, Anti-Democracy & the Canon, Richard Pildes, published in 2000

The main instruments by which this disenfranchisement was effected was through:
a) poll taxes,
b) literacy and comprehension tests,
c) residency and record-keeping requirements.
Q. Of these instruments which were the most effective - specifically in Louisiana?


texts: What distinguished the Republican Party of Liberia from the True Whig Party?

texts: What was the difference between the two parties? Wikipedia says that the Republican Party was made up primarily of Americo-Liberians who had mixed African and European ancestry. I assume the TWP was too, so that's not different. What is known about the Republican Party other than it was Americo-Liberian, had a couple of presidents, and that it ceased to exist early in Liberia's history?


texts: Was Rome obliged to expand its territory whether it wanted to or not?

texts:
If we assume that the trend to empire existed for generations before Julius Caesar was assassinated:

Was the very expansion that eventually doomed the Roman Republic/Empire economically or culturally pre-ordained?

For the purpose of this question, let us assume that obliged is meant in the Hobbesian self-preservation and standard-of-living sense of the word; instead of a more pure free-will or pacifist sense.
As in a pure pacifist sense Rome of course wasn't obliged to do anything; including survive, retain autonomy or feed its citizens.


texts: Did any British working class men have the vote before 1918?

texts:
I was watching the film Suffragette recently and she mentioned her husband having the vote.

I thought he looked too poor to already have the vote, but this didn't look like a film to just ignore history.

Ok the 1884 Reform Act introduced:

  all adult householders and men who rented unfurnished lodgings to the
  value of £10 a year.

https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/british-electoral-history-since-1832/the-1884-reform-act/

Which I can imagine was quite a substantial property in 1884, but who did it cover by 1918? Would it have covered a worker in a factory as the film says?

So money she was paid 18 shillings a week, which comes out to £48.6 pounds a year, her husband was paid a few shilling a week more to say £90 pounds between them.

So it is possible they could afford £10 a year rent between them, but in that case which working men got the vote in 1918, if a factory worker could already afford a £10 a year house.

I have just realised the possible significance of unfurnished, did poor people all rent furnished property?

The film said this ordinary working man had the vote, my calculations show it was possible he had the vote.

But the 1918 Act gave "working men the vote".

So one of these two statements must be wrong. Were working class men able to vote before the 1918 Act like the film depicts?


texts: Any idea what type of 1920-1930s tank this is?

texts:
It's sitting in front of Escuela Militar in Lima, Peru.  Looks like a 1930's French or British tank/tankette (Bolivia used some UK tanks in a war in the 30s).  Not in the AMR3x series as far as I could tell.  Note what looks like a Renault FT17 track - higher in the front than in the back, but less pronounced.  Looks like possibly a water cooled machine gun rather than  the stubby low-velocity low-caliber guns typical of the interwar tanks.  Quite small.

edit: it only looked a bit like the FT17's higher front, but then looking more closely at the photograph, it looks like the 2nd front and 2nd last bogie are the same size.  I didn't think it was a FT17, merely something that might have come out from the same design bureau 10 yrs later.


texts: Given that President Nixon was bold enough to erase 18 minutes of the "Nixon tapes" before turning them over to the Watergate investigators, why didn't he also erase the "smoking gun," the conversation in which he directs one of his aides to tell the FBI to back off the investigation into the Watergate break-in?


texts: Were bicycles widespread in the Soviet Union?

texts:
In the Soviet Union, did most people own a bicycle? Were streets crowded with bikes? Or was there a shortage of bikes? What was the price of bikes and were they affordable?

The time period I'm most interested in is early 1960's. I'm concerned about big cities only, not rural areas.


texts: How would Eastern European emigres have traveled across Eastern Europe to Warsaw in the early 20thC?

texts:
I was looking back at my grandmother's voyage to America, she made the trip from Zbaraz in the Ukraine through Warsaw and then on to Gdanks and through steerage class to the New York.  I know she took a specific route through Poland and to Gdansk but not how, that was something we never documented.  It made me wonder how emigres from the region might have travelled across Eastern Europe and to ports like Gdansk in the early 20th Century (for my grandmother this was about 1917), were train lines available as transportation and affordable to emigres?  Would they have walked?  Horse and buggy/cart/wagon or some other means?  I'm only concerned for Eastern Europe at this point, but if anyone has ideas for how travel might have gone in the region I'd be curious to know.

My own knowledge of the region and time makes me think most would have travelled north or maybe east, going south the Ottoman Empire or the Black Sea doesn't seem like the best method to emigrate to the US.  Northern sea ports on the North Sea seemed to have the routes to New York and the US more settled than others, but I am not sure if there were ports east of Italy that might have been used (although there probably are and I am unaware of them.)

edit:  Originally I erred and noted Warsaw as the port when it should have been Gdansk, sorry about that!


texts: How common was capturing a post-sail warship?

texts:
From this answer it appears that capturing an enemy warship in battle, either by boarding, or by shooting at them from bow or stern until they surrender, was relatively common in the age of sail. However, post-sail warships were more maneuverable, and had longer-range weapons, which should have made boarding all but impossible.
How common was surrendering/capturing a post-sail warship in battle?
E.g.,

Russians surrendered 7 ships (including 4 battleships!) during Battle of Tsushima.
U-570 surrendered to RAF(!); U-110, HMS Seal, and Galileo Galilei were captured.
North Koreans captured USS Pueblo.

On the other hand, there are plenty of examples where ships fought till the end: Knyaz Suvorov, Bismarck, &c


texts: What type of ferry boats were used in England in the early 19th century?

texts: In 1800-1820, what sort of ferry boats were used by the general public in England and how were they powered? In particular I am interested in ferries used to access the Isle of Wight, and also whatever boats were used to cross the English Channel to France.


texts: Who is the woman in this United States military propaganda image representing?

texts: In this image who or what is the lady in the background representing?


texts: Gender Color Association: When did boys become blue and girls pink?

texts:
What historical evidence exists for the origin of the association of blue colors with boys, and pink colors with girls?

I realize this is a cultural specific trait.  An article "Beyond Pink and Blue" looks at how color preferences vary across cultures, but this question is specifically about the cultural norm that a boy baby should have a blue blanket.

What is the earliest known reference to this association?  Or, alternatively, is there any evidence that this association goes back as far as recorded history?


texts: Did Hitler actually say "Millionen stehen hinter mir."?

texts: There is a fairly famous poster made by John Heartfield in 1932 depicting Adolf Hitler with the quote "Millionen stehen hinter mir.", which is a pun that might be roughly translated as "the millions follow me". Along with the picture it is meant to say that the "millionen" was money provided by the "fat cats" like the one behind him in the picture. Meaning aside, my question is, did Hitler actually say at some time "Millionen stehen hinter mir."? I have to believe that he did actually say this but I have not been able to find confirmation.


texts: Why was sugar cultivation more profitable in the Caribbean/Brazil than West Africa?

texts:
The Atlantic slave trade involved the large-scale deportation of West African slaves to sugar plantations on the other side of the Atlantic.

Why was it more profitable to do that, rather than to grow sugar in West Africa?

West Africa has about the right latitude and rainfall for sugar production.


texts: Index of importance / economic value various minerals during the Industrial Revolution

texts:
I am looking for an indication, possibly an Index, as to the value or importance of common minerals for the Industrial Revolution. So, for example how important was Manganese (or Lead, or Zinc..) relative to other minerals for the Industrial Revolution.

To be more precise, I mean economic importance as in "importance of a mineral for the whole economy" (and not for an arbitrarily chosen company). Also, I am mainly interested in a mineral's price as the measure of its value.

I am mostly interested in the U.S. and the time frame from 1830 to 1880.

This publication, suggested by AllnOne, gathers a lot of information for the time after 1900. Before, however, information is often missing.

This being said, I realize it might be difficult to find exact price data for the 19th century (any suggestions still highly welcomed).

An index of relative importance of minerals would be sufficient for me too. Say, I just discovered Zinc resource on my own ground in 1850, how valuable would that be compared to Manganese resource?

Any suggestions are highly appreciated, especially if they refer to historical articles that have tried to classified minerals or, even better, historical price data for such materials.


texts: When were both minuscule and majuscule letters used for the first time in the same Latin manuscript?

texts:
I understand the first minuscule script appeared in the Latin alphabet in the 3rd century - "New Roman cursive".

My question is: when did a script used both minuscule and majuscule letters in the same text, for the first time?


texts: Does anyone know anything about this poem

texts:
My near 80 year old mother remembers having this poem recited to her by her mother as a young girl.  She remembers a great deal but there are some gaps.  Is anyone able to place it in context or provide more information?  We suspect it dates to World War I era.  The following is an incomplete and possibly inaccurate transcription of her memory.  In particular, was Senlis surrounded by an area with the pronunciation of Ardefine at the time?

Swinging through Senlis, in Ardefine
comes a French regiment of the line,
among the people who cheer for joy,
is Gustav Chetaine, the gardener’s boy.

Now Gustav, who stands just four foot three,
wishes that he might a soldier be,
but Ah! My lad you’re not yet fit,
being only 14 years and a bit.

On go the troops, if you look you’ll find,
the gardener’s boy still lurks behind,
on to the station, he’s there again,
he smuggles onto the soldier’s train.

Brave lads, they’re loathe to part with him yet,
they think to make him the Regiment’s pet,
but that is a role he must decline,
no pet, but a soldier of the line.

They get to the front, (with the gardener’s boy)
to a little village near Fontenoy,
where a maid with streaming eyes,
cries “save me, save me, the foemen are near (nigh)”.

???
???
???
???

Into the camp which was all astir,
Gustav reports, “Seven prisoners, Sir”!
Forced to swallow their bitter cup,
their heads hang down and their hands go up.

When they ask what his reward should be,
“Please make me a soldier”, said four foot three.
There on the spot the deed was done,
Such soldiers they need, so they made him one.

Twice he was wounded with shot and steel,
just to return when his wounds should heal,
???
???

Then comes his Colonel to (the) hospital,
gives him his stripes as a corporal,

???
???
and the badge of honour shall shortly be,
pinned to the breast of four foot three!


texts: What group is identified by the term "Egyptians" in the Flushing Remonstrance?

texts:
I am reading about the Flushing Remonstrance and its significance in the history of freedom of religion in the United States.  An article by the Social Science Research Council indicates it was significant in extending liberty beyond the Christian religions:

First, its concept of religious freedom was more generous than any at the time. ... the two contemporary documents often noted in the history of American religious freedom—the 1649 Maryland Toleration Act and the 1663 Rhode Island Royal Charter—restricted their toleration to Christians only. The Flushing Remonstrance, on the other hand, extended the “law of love, peace and liberty” to “Jews, Turks and Egyptians,” and further stated that “our desire is not to offend one of his little ones, in whatsoever form, name or title he appears in, whether Presbyterian, Independent, Baptist or Quaker, but shall be glad to see anything of God in any of them.” ... It should be noted, however, that Catholics are mentioned nowhere in the document.

The reference to Jews is obvious and I understand that the term "Turks" is an historical term for Muslims.  I have heard of reference to "the Turk" in Thomas Jefferson's writings on religious liberty as well.
However, I do not see an obvious religious correlation for "Egyptians" in the historical context of 1657.
Based on my understanding of the history of religion in Egypt, and the prevalence of Islam in the Ottoman empire, it appears that Islam would equally apply to that country.
To what religious group does the Flushing Remonstrance refer with the word "Egyptians"?  If Islam, why is this listed distinctly from "Turks"?  Or is it not associated with religion?


texts: Are these remarks by Napoleon on Jesus genuine?

texts:
The German edition of Wikiquote contains the following alleged words of Napoleon (in translation):

  I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between
  Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of
  comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded
  empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon
  force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour
  millions of men would die for Him.

It cites Conversations avec General Bertrand à St. Helena as its source. A couple of things look odd about this:

While Napoleon sometimes referred to Jesus Christ as an emperor perhaps
would, I understand his religious outlook was
sceptic-to-agnostic. (After all, he grew up during the French revolution.) Napoleon may of course have reconsidered his believes close to the end of his
life, but then he may not have done so. If he didn't the quote's language would seem a bit over-the-top.
The claimed source does not seem to appear e.g. in the online catalog of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. When I Google its title, this leads mainly to Christian sites in German (despite the French title). And other editions of Wikisource and Wikipedia do not seem to mention it.

So I am wondering: Is this perhaps part of a larger conspiracy to engross a prominent historical figure to a Christian cause, probably launched in a German-speaking country post-mortem. (Alternatively it could e.g. be an innocent mistake in Wikipedia, with  distribution across sites by the usual copy-paste efforts.)

At the root of this inquiry lies the question: Did Henri Gatien Bertrand (who indeed accompanied Napoleon to St. Helena -- that much seems certain) or some other witness write Conversations avec General Bertrand à St. Helena and if so, where  (online) can this source be confirmed and consulted.


texts: What did the native inhabitants of Gojoseon call themselves?

texts:
I have found on Wikipedia that the inhabitants of Gojoseon (2333 BC - 108 BC) were called Dong-i, or Eastern Bowmen, by the Chinese, but I cannot find what the official name/ethnicity of the people that lived there was.  If possible, could you include sources so I may go back and do more research?

This is not as necessary, but I would appreciate it if anybody could tell me what the inhabitants of the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Baekje, Silla, and Goguryeo) were called too.


texts: Did Richard II of England officially name Roger Mortimer or Edmund Mortimer as his heir?

texts:
Richard II of England was childless which was one of the causes of the future War of the Roses between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.

When Henry IV deposed Richard II in 1399, he assumed the crown due to being the son of John of Gaunt, the 3rd son of Edward III and therefore claimed the throne through direct male descent from Edward III who made a decree in 1376 limiting succession to male heirs.

Wikipedia states that Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March “was heir presumptive to King Richard II of England, his first cousin twice removed, when Richard II was deposed in favour of Henry IV.”

That was because he was the son of Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March(died in 1398), the son of Phillipa of Clarence, the daughter of Edward III’s second son Lionel Duke of Clarence and thus senior in primogeniture making it appear that Richard II overriden the decree of Edward III.

His sister Anne Mortimer married Richard Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, causing the House of York to claim the throne during the War of the Roses.

However the Wikipedia article on the War of the Roses that “at the onset of Richard II's reign, Gaunt was the official heir presumptive, but due to the intrigues of his turbulent rule, the succession was unclear by the time of his deposition.”

Did Richard II officially name Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March and later Edmund Mortimer as his heir or did he make the succession unclear?


texts: What did Fyodor Shtein report after his voyage?

texts:
In 1820 The Russian admiralty sent two pairs of ships to explore the polar regions. The southern ships, Mirny and Vostok, circumnavigated Antarctica, and the northern ships, Otkrytie and Blagonamerennyi, reconnoitered the Arctic.

German scientist Fyodor Shtein (Friedrich Stein) was the naturalist on the Blagonamerennyi. The published accounts of two officers on his ship particularly mention his exploration of California.

As appointed naturalist on a naval expedition, Shtein probably made some report after the ships returned to St. Petersburg. What did he record?


texts: What happened to sacrificed animals in ancient Greece?

texts:
I was wondering, what happened to animals that were sacrificed in the ancient Greece. For instance, when Pythagoras created his theorem he made a 100 oxen sacrifice.

Was the sacrifice considered a major feast with the animals eaten in the process, or were they left to rot - To be eaten by "gods"?

If the animals were eaten and the bones were burnt, what happened to the ashes?


texts: Identify the caricatured countries in an illustration about the XYZ affair

texts:
I've been reading about the XYZ affair and I've found this cartoon, in which a woman representing America is stripped by a group of Frenchmen in the presence of John Bull and other anthropomorphic countries.

Transcript:

  First Directeur: We infringe-Dat be ver good! Indeed Madame Amerique
  you be ver pretty WOMAN and we should like to give you the hug
  Fraternale, Begar we do not want to quarrel with you, as a proof, my
  Brother the grand Directeur's are at this moment take all de care
  possible of your Baggage-derefore if you will go back and bring a
  little more of de l'Argent you shall be admit to de honor of de swing,
  we only ask de favor we never seize on properly [points to sack
  labeled PRIVATE PLUNDER FOR THE DIRECTORS]

  America: America will not have her rights infringed on.

  Second Directeur: By gar some of dese fedders vil look vel in de caps
  of us Legislateurs.

  Third and Fourth Directeurs pour plunder from bags marked EXTORTED
  FROM PORTUGAL and Borrow'd by Force from Switzerland into a bag marked
  NATIONAL SACK DIPLOMATIC PERQUISITES.

  Fifth Directeur: Oui Oui Madame Amerique dis Argument vil connvince
  you dat all he say be true.

  Sword: FRENCH ARGUMENT.

  First European: aye they left me nothing but my prayer book and Crown,
  and striped that of its jewels.

  Second European: they'll certainly pluck her to the last feather.

  Third European: Yes we know how things will go by Experience.

  Fourth European: yaw Mynheer we have been great dupes and there sits
  John Bull on his Rock laughing at us.

Source

I can assume some of the countries represented. For example, in the late eighteenth century it was a popular stereotype in England that the Dutch had fat asses, so the figure of brown clothes on the right must be the Netherlands.

Would you help me to identify the other countries in that group? Thanks in advance.


texts: Why was France given such a lenient peace after Napoleon was defeated?

texts:
For two decades revolutionary France had attacked and conquered many nations in Europe. Millions were killed. But when the allies finally defeated France, the peace was very lenient. France didn't lose anything apart from what they conquered during the wars.

Why were the allies so lenient towards France, which logically should have been a hated enemy? Especially since France was such a powerful enemy, shouldn't they want to weaken France?


texts:
I've been searching, without success so far on mainstream history media (mainly references given by teachers, references on Wikipedia and stuff like this) and have not found any evidences (or proofs of the contrary) about trades between the various African Kingdoms/Empires during the Mamluk's Sultanate ruling in Egypt - half of the 13th century -> first quarter of the 16th century.

As far as I Know, The Ethiopian Empire wasn't very far from the Mamluk' Sultanate, yet I've found no proof of any known trade route. Was it because of religious differences ?

On the other coast, The Malian Empire and The Kanem Empire weren't very far either, no sources about trade routes between the two either...

Does anyone know where to search about this peculiar subject? The only things I found were between the various north-African kingdoms.


texts: I've been googling for answers on why Philippi was abandoned - most think it has something to do with the Ottoman conquest, but why would they abandon a city near the water?


texts: What did Vikings wear in cold wet conditions at sea?

texts:
As you can see from this BBC documentary, the crew of this 2009 summertime journey from Denmark to Ireland in a Viking longship suffered from hypothermia (approx 00:20:00 into the video), even though they were wearing modern foul weather gear and clothing.

Like all experienced sailors, I'm sure the Vikings picked their weather windows carefully. Nonetheless, conditions around the North Sea are unpredictable and at times extreme. Most historically accurate illustrations of Viking garb show woolen hats, tunic-like shirts, pants, and leather shoes. Good for cool damp weather, but not enough for 24/7 soaking wind-driven rain and sea-spray. Did they have heavy-weather gear? Did they use fires or some type of fabric shelter while onboard? Do we have any record of what Vikings wore for these conditions? In other words, other than making educated guesses, do we have any knowledge of how Vikings adapted to cold wet windy conditions at sea?


texts: Why did the French insist on reclaiming Indo-China after WWII?

texts:
After WWII France was in rebuilding mode, and yet they insisted on trying to reclaim Indo-China. It would seem that in the new world order this did not make much sense for a country that was trying to rebuild itself to commit to such a massive amount of blood and treasure to something that would arguably not produce much dividends in the future.

I'm looking for some articulated reasons by the post-WWII French government to try and reclaim the territory, or a compelling cost-benefit argument as to why they pursued this course of action.


texts: What were John Milton's daily reading habits?

texts: In a college course on John Milton, I believe I remember the professor saying that Milton had an extremely rigorous daily reading schedule, something like one hour of Greek and two hours of Hebrew every morning. Are there sources that indicate what Milton's reading habits were?


texts: What caused Yugoslavia to switch sides early in World War II?

texts:
In 1940,-41 Germany was able to enlist the support of Roumania, Hungary (the latter at the expense of the former), and Bulgaria, in the Balkans. Yugoslavia initially signed on with Germany, then soon switched sides and declared herself for the Allies.

Why did Yugoslavia do this? I have a recollection of a difference of opinion between the minor (seventeen year old) king, and his uncle, the regent. Was this the real cause, or were one or both men pawns in a larger struggle?


texts: Did any commoners become prince-electors during the Holy Roman Empire?

texts:
Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806) were elected by a set circle of prince-electors. Among them were both secular electors as well as the archbishops of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne.

In principle promotion in the ranks of the Roman Catholic church was possible also for commoners also back then. E.g. clearly not all abbots or ordinary bishops where from the (high) nobility, although I assume most archbishops were.

So do we know if all the archbishops who served as (ecclesiastic) prince-electors during the centuries of the empire's existence belonged to noble families by birth (as would seem likely) or were there exceptions (as would seem possible on the face of it)?


texts: How many Me Bf 109 were produced in Czechoslovakia during WW2

texts:
It is known fact that Czechoslovak factories(or at least Avia) produced Messerschmitt Bf 109 during WW2. After the war ended, they for some time continued production, called Avia S-99 and when engines ran out, Avia created hybrids called S-199, which were used in 1948 by Isreal to fight off airforce of their enemies.

I'd like to learn more about how many of them were produced here during the war, but after quick search, the best I found was confirmation that Avia indeed did produce Bf 109s during the war. Anyone here knows where to look for documents that would give numbers, or at least offer some approximation?


texts: Why did people have so many children in Victorian times?

texts:
I'm looking into my ancestry, and I found out that my great-great-grandfather, born in 1897, was one of fourteen children!

Now I know that even for the period this is a large number of children to have, but not exceedingly so. Therefore, my question is what were the main motivations to have so many children?

Was it a lack of understanding about how conception occurs, lack of contraception (which doesn't really make a lot of sense considering that withdrawal could still be employed), or simply a desire to maintain a legacy?


texts:
I'm writing an essay, and one of the elements of it has to do with the development of military technology throughout history.  I've noticed that there is a rapidly increasing and disturbing trend in terms of the ratio between destructive power and the manpower required to utilize it.  Essentially, despite the labor required to build and maintain modern weapons, it does not appear to make up for the necessary manpower required in the past.  For example, the Napoleonic era where combat mostly relied on massed musket and rifle fire.  This allows for a greater consolidation of power ultimately making it more difficult to resist centralized authorities.

Anyway, I am interested if there are any sources that specifically detail the destructive potential of military technology over the last few centuries.  Possibly an infographic showing the explosive yield of bombs, shells and rockets over a few centuries.  Any assistance would be appreciated.


texts: What was the British version of the Enigma machine?

texts: While the Germans were using the Enigma machine, what were the British using to encrypt their messages and was it ever broken?


texts: Whig party identification in the House of Lords

texts:
After the Whigs became subsumed into the Liberal party, did the label survive in the House of Lords? As of today, the longest serving current peer began his tenure during the Second World War. It seems reasonable that the Whigs could have survived as a faction into the twentieth century. Was there any peer who thought of himself as a Whig by, say, 1920?

Since there's new interest in this question, I'll refine it slightly. When was the last person who identified himself as a Whig rather than a Liberal, Conservative or Liberal Unionist in the House of Lords?


texts: What were the largest newspapers in mid-1800s California?

texts: I'm reading about current events in 1850s and 1860s California and want to check several newspapers' reporting on the same events. Which newspapers? In addition to the paper local to wherever something happened, I'd check large newspapers that did their own statewide reporting, probably dailies. The major ones I have found so far are the The Sacramento Daily Union (1851-1899) and the Daily Alta California (1849-1891). Were there any other California papers at the time as big as those two?


texts: How did the US plan to use nuclear shells for naval guns?

texts:
Acoodring to wikipedia:

The W19 nuclear system was adapted into a nuclear artillery shell for the US Navy 16 inches (410 mm) battleship guns, the W23. Production of the W23 began in 1956 and they were in service until 1962, with a total of 50 units being produced.
The W23 was 16 inches (410 mm) diameter and 64 inches (160 cm) long, with a weight given variously as 1,500 or 1,900 pounds (680 or 860 kg) in reference sources. As with the W19, yield was 15-20 kilotons.

Do any existing sources detail if the nuclear-ship launched shells were intended as shore bombardment rounds, for use against other ships (or fleets) or for other purposes? Under whose command would these weapons have been used in the short timespan they where in service?


texts: Why did Germany not become a major colonizer of overseas countries, like England and France, and even Belgium?


texts: How did the design of the hull differ between an Indiaman and a frigate?

texts:
Indiamen and frigates look similar. The Indiaman seems a little bigger, but both are similar in the following ways:

full rigged
design for overseas operation (able to cross oceans)
armed

As indiamen are not designed to go to war, its hull may not be as strong. Thus, my question is: Is there difference between both hull designs such as heavier wood or thicker hull?


texts: Is it true that there was no such thing as a Hispanic-owned bank in the continental USA until 1969?

texts:
I was doing some online research on the subject of minority-owned banks in the USA, and I stumbled across this passage on the History page of the website of the National Bankers Association.

  Diversity of minority banking began in 1962, when Los Angeles based
  Cathay Bank became the first bank recognized as Asian-American.
  Centinel Bank of Taos, New Mexico followed in 1969 becoming the first
  US-mainland-based Hispanic bank. (Banco Popular de Puerto Rico,
  headquartered in San Juan, is more than 100 years old.)

If I'm reading this right, that passage asserts that, until the year 1969, there literally was no such thing as a legally chartered bank, anywhere in the continental United States, which was wholly or mostly owned by one or more shareholders of Hispanic ancestry.

That idea greatly startled me when I ran across it earlier today. I would have thought there must have been several Hispanic-owned banks, long before that, particularly in the Southwest. (I.e., the areas which used to be part of Mexico.)

So now I'm asking the question posed in the title of this post. Or, to put it a little differently: Does anyone reading this know of a specific case, pre-1969, of a legitimate bank in the continental USA that was either a) founded by Hispanic owners, or b) was founded by someone else, but later had a majority of its shares bought up by one or more Hispanic businessmen (or businesswomen)?


texts: At what point was the Byzantine Empire's decline irreversible?

texts: I've heard various arguments that the Byzantines were dealt the mortal wound at Manzikert in 1071 which allowed the Turks to claim most of Anatolia and set the stage for the later sacking of Constantinople by the Latin Crusaders. I've also heard that the it was the sacking itself that set the Empire on a course to its ultimate end. With the fall of Constantinople in 1453 being generally accepted as the end of the Byzantine Empire proper; when did the slope toward that end begin?


texts: Buddhists in ancient Alexandria and Rome

texts:
I came across this quote in an interview with British philosopher Jonardon Ganeri:

  What I would add is that philosophy did not have a single origin, but
  many origins around the world, and each of those roots produced
  outgrowths of philosophy that merged and tangled with each other in
  the course of human history. There were Buddhists in Alexandria and
  Rome, and there were sufis and Europeans in India. The old story that
  as philosophers we are the children of the Greeks had a particular
  function, largely political, at a particular time, but it doesn’t make
  much sense in the modern world [...]

It inspires this question about history: What in particular do we know about individual Buddhists in Alexandria and Rome? What traces, if any, have they left in recorded history?


texts:
Whenever I read an article on ancient Indian history, I see people only writing about the Indus valley civilization and the Aryans. But what about Dravidians? Didn't they exist even before the Aryans came to India? Also I see a lot of other languages follow the Dravidian script or something similar like the Georgian, Korean, Sri Lankan etc.

Check out this link, some of the comments might be funny but someone says there is actually a lot of similarity in Asian languages to the Dravidian script. Am I missing something?


texts:
Bulgaria was formed 1339 years ago. (Then broke up a couple of times.)
In school (late '90s) we were told

In 681 Slavic tribes were occupying the northern border of the Western Roman Empire. Some dudes (led by king Asparuh) (coming from a place named Great Bulgaria; never placed on the map) arrived on horses. The locals peacefully accepted them and thus Bulgaria was formed.

I tend to believe that (given a child-oriented definition of peacefully). But where did those nomads come from?
The idea of horse barbarians is further impressed on by the second siege of Constantinople.
In the schoolbooks it was also heavily stressed they were Tengrist in religion. Thus I would not exclude Mongolian origin.
'Ahmad ibn Fadlan' was sent in the year 921 on a journey through Europe to preach Islam to 'Volga Bulgars' (nowadays Russia). He described in his famous manuscript (sorry, I can't find it now, but I know it's available online) that Balkans are no different to any Turk OR barbarian (in my interpretation).
Bulgarians also tend to have darker skin than Russians.
Where from?


texts: Which city was attacked by Nazi-German war flights in India during WW2?

texts: Nazi-Germany ran a bombing raid over India, in WW2. Which city was bombed, and what effect did it have? i.e how many casualties were inflicted, was transport closed down, or was there other damage to infrastructure?


texts: Is there any evidence that Jesus' Mother lived in Ephesus?

texts:
There is a Shrine Chapel in the ancient city of Ephesus-(present-day Efes, Turkey) that is dedicated to Jesus' Mother, Mary, titled, "House of the Virgin Mary" which is administered by The Roman Catholic Church; (It is also referred to as, "Our Lady of Ephesus").  It is a simple and rather humble looking stone house located in the distant corner of ancient Ephesus. The lore behind the House is that Jesus' Mother lived there shortly after his death.  She is also believed to have died in this House, thereby making it both a historical and a sacred site for practicing Christians-(in particular, Roman Catholics).

However, is there any incontrovertible historical proof that Mary traveled to Ephesus after Jesus' death and lived in this particular Ephesian House? Are there any written records? Is there any available archaeological evidence validating this claim? Or is this particular House part of the larger Christian lore?