texts: First eastbound transcontinental flight departed from...?

texts: On Feb. 8th, 1912, the first eastbound US transcontinental flight landed in Jacksonville, FL. After several Google searches, I can't find anything that says where the flight departed from. So where did it depart from?


texts: Did the old-west style duels (as depicted in movies) actually occur?

texts:
Not sure whether this is better off here or on movies.se

It's a well-known movie cliché where two gunslingers stand in the middle of the street (possibly at high noon), staring intently at each other, hands hovering over the holsters - suddenly the villain goes for his gun. However, the hero, being "quickest on the draw" is too fast for him, draws his gun and shoots the villain first.

Did these types of gunfights really occur? It seems a bit unbelievable that they would wait for each other like that, rather than shooting their enemy as soon as they saw him. Would there have been an advantage in waiting for the other guy to go for his weapon first before you go for yours? I would think that even if you were quicker than him, you'd still draw as soon as possible rather than wait to react to him...


texts: What sources or documentation exists to indicate Stalin's level of popularity in Russia today?

texts:
To what extent is Stalin still loved and/or respected by Russians (and for extra points former USSR states)?

While articles like these

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7802485.stm
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7802485.stm

indicate there is a large proportion of the populace who still respect (if not actively adore) Stalin, this article (in Russian) indicates the voting was tampered with.

Are there any other studies that indicate weak or strong support for Stalin?

migrated from comments https://history.stackexchange.com/a/1710/682


texts: Is there any historical evidence of a significant population of middle eastern people in iron age Northern Germany/Southern Scandinavia?

texts:
In at least two of John McWhorter's works, he argues that the Germanic language group was heavily affected by a significant group of people speaking a Semitic language.  The works are the book "Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English" and the 'Great Courses' audiobook "The Story of Human Language".

This article suggests, "The majority of Ashkenazi Jews are descended from prehistoric European women..."

So, my first question is: is there any historical evidence of significant numbers of people from the middle east living in Northern Europe in significant numbers between say 500BCE and 0BCE?  By significant, I mean enough to affect the native language.

Second, if there were large numbers of Semitic folks living there, are those same people connected to the development (creation? arrival?) of Yiddish?

If so, why were Semitic people making such a large impact in northern Germany; as opposed to elsewhere in Europe?

Although, as I write this, I'm remembering that the Moors had a huge impact in Spain and on Spanish, but that was over 1,000 years after the effect on Proto-Germanic.  And, Spain is on the Mediterranean; whereas Proto-Germanic ostensibly arose in/around Scandinavia. What the heck where Semitic folks doing up there?  Why not Northern France or the British Isles?


texts: Are there any examples of overpopulation?

texts:
Malthus was one of the first one who raised the concern about overpopulation and it is today seen as a potential threat to humanity.

Are there any historical examples where overpopulation led to resource exhaustion and a major city or civilization collapse?


texts: Did Constantine XI will his titles to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain?

texts:
This video  claims that there was a will of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI in which he left his titles to Ferdinand & Isabella of Spain. The video also claims that Constantine was bribed or paid for this in some way.
Is there any such will? I couldn't find any evidence to this, and sounds like a legend or made up rumor of some kind.
p.s.  Linked video is a bit of a mess, my reference was to an early part where the incorrect information is given, but it seems the corrected version of that is also given at a later time.


texts: Did the Allies benefit, by having Italy fight on Germany's side rather than remain neutral?

texts:
All things considered and with perfect hindsight, did the Allies benefit, by having Italy fight on Germany's side rather than remain neutral?

I was inspired to ask this question after reading Paul Kennedy's rather amazing claims in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers (1988). On p. 298:

  In 1939 and 1940, the western Allies frequently considered the pros and cons of having Italy fighting on Germany's side rather than remaining neutral. On the whole, the British chiefs of staff preferred Italy to be kept out of the war, so as to preserve peace in the Mediterranean and Near East; but there were powerful counterarguments, which seem in retrospect to have been correct. Rarely in the history of human conflict has it been argued that the entry of an additional foe would hurt one's enemy more than oneself; but Mussolini's Italy was, in that way at least, unique.

And also on p. 340:

  Had Italy also joined in the conflict in September 1939, its own economic deficiencies might have posed an excessive strain upon the Reich's slender stocks and, arguably, dislocated the chances for the German westward strike in 1940. To be sure, Italy's participation would have complicated the Anglo-French position in the Mediterranean, but not perhaps by much, and Rome's neutrality made it a useful conduit for German trade—which is why many of the planners in Berlin hoped that Mussolini would remain on the sidelines.


texts: During WW2, what B-29 crew role did the abbreviation EMG mean?

texts: My grandfather was an EMG on a B-29 superfortress flying out of Guam during World War 2, but I can’t find what the abbreviation stands for. A friend told me that it’s likely he was an electrical specialist gunner, so I’d like to check if that’s the case and what specifically EMG stands for (electrical machine gunner?). Any other information about what he might have done to become an EMG would be gratefully received. Thank you!


texts: Were Soviets invited to the Marshall Islands to observe the first hydrogen bomb detonations?

texts:
In 1952, did the US invite, or consider inviting, Russian scientist to observe the detonation of the first hydrogen bomb? These were above-ground tests far away from Russian in the Marshall Islands, and thus not detectable with seismographs. How was Russia to know the USA had an even greater "stick" to threaten them with?

I was taught US defense posture was to never use nuclear weapons because collateral civilian death was unthinkable. Rather, it was the threat of their use that maintained the peace. But, if Russia were to never know about the USA possession of the hydrogen bomb, 1000 times more powerful than Little Boy, it could not function as a deterrent.

One reason to demonstrate the hydrogen bomb to Russia would be to use it as a deterrent and maintain peace. I cannot think of a reason to keep it a secret.


texts: Estimating gross domestic product in ancient times

texts:
I would like to estimate, to what extent the Roman republic (or different parts of it) were "agricultural".

Today, a common measure to the "agricultural-ness" of an economy is the gross domestic product in agriculture, divided by the total gross domestic product. E.g, if the GDP in agriculture is 10 billion and the total is 400 billion, then the economy is about 2.5% agricultural.

Is there a way to estimate these numbers for ancient economies such as the Roman republic?

Alternatively, is there another way to estimate the size of agriculture relative to the size of other industries?

(I am also interested in data for other ancient economies, but it seems that data for Rome is easier to find).


texts: Have wartime conditions traditionally decreased or increased consensual sexual activity in the young?

texts:
In joshbirk's Answer to the question Hogwarts: So why aren't the kids doing it?
he claims that wartime atmosphere would decrease sexual activity in the students:

  Towards the end of the series / books, the overall tone and culture of the school is closer to that of one during wartime. The possibility of getting blown up can be a bit of a dampener on romantic outings.

In a comment on the same answer, Peteris makes the opposite claim:

  Wartime' and the related fear, emotional stress & pressure would generally be an accelerating factor, making teenagers reach emotional adulthood (or the conviction that they have reached it) faster. In such a situation it would be far more likely for teenagers to experiment, and less likely to postpone or restrict things. "Going off to war" - in either literal or figurative sense - is a powerful instinctive reason to have sex now, while you still can. I won't dig for citations, but both biology and historical evidence (say, during WW2 right before war went over those places) supports this

Is there historical evidence to back either of these claims?


texts: Why does Western Europe tend to have small 'in between' countries?

texts:
Why does Western Europe have small 'in between' countries? For example, Andorra is a tiny country between Spain and France. Another example is Luxembourg which is between France and Germany. Even Monaco, which is surrounded by France, is close to the border of Italy, while little Liechtenstein is between Austria and Switzerland.

Is there a common reason why these kinds of countries form? For example, are they created to give people who don't identify with either of the surrounding countries' cultures or policies a place of their own? These 'in between' countries appear to be a Western European phenomenon.


texts: Who was the oldest woman to give birth in the Medieval Europe that we know of?

texts:
In 1166, Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of Henry II of England, gave birth to the future King John when she was at least 42 years old (it is more likely she was 43 or 44). Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I of England, also gave birth to a future king, Edward II, when she was either 41 or 42.

Medical technology means it is now not uncommon for women in their fifties to give birth, but there is also a documented case of a woman of 58 or 59 giving birth to twins in 1818. The case of Julienne Despeigne in 1757 (age 52) seems to be disputed, though.

While it is not difficult to find information on the youngest women to give birth in medieval times, there doesn’t seem to be much on the oldest women. The Wikipedia page Pregnancy over age 50 does not list any medieval women, so who comes closest to 50 that we know of?

She does not have to be a royal or a noble (though they are more likely to be documented) and the child can be either male or female, but the birth must have been a live one with the child not dying within a few days of birth.

Note: This requires that the the mother’s age can be proven to be not later than a certain date and the child’s birth date can be proven to be not earlier than a certain date. In the case of Eleanor of Aquitaine, we know that she was at least 42 as we know that (1) she was not born later than 1124 and (2) John was definitely born in 1166.


texts: What are the per capita alcohol consumption rates of England from 1700 to 1900?

texts:
The rates are readily available for the period 1800 onwards but there is some trouble finding equivalent data for the period prior to 1800. Moreover, the data that I have some across so far even for the period 1800-1850 is not very satisfactory.

For example, one may take a look at this which gives the rates for each decade from 1800 to 1930: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmhealth/151/15106.htm - In this, the statistics appear to be confusing. The rates are given in gallons per capita with rates for wine and spirit enlarged. Moreover, since it is a graphical chart, one cannot easily deduce the exact number of alcohol consumed.

It'd be far more helpful if data was to be presented in a modern manner: that is, the rates be given in "litres of pure alcohol consumed per capita per year" in exact numbers.

I very well understand that there may be some problems getting such data for prior 1800, but surely it won't be that hard for the early and middle 19th century overall? I am well aware that such rates are readily available in a modern and exact form for the period 1890 in several European countries in: "Holmes, A. J., & Anderson, K. (2017). Convergence in national alcohol consumption patterns: New global indicators. Journal of Wine Economics, 12(2), 117-148". It would be very great if rates for the period anywhere from 1700 to 1900 were to be given in a similar manner as to 1890 in the source above.

I request specifically for the rates be given, if possible, for each decade for the 18th and 19th century. Once again, it should be remembered that they be provided in litres per capita consumed per year.


texts: Did the food economy of the late Roman republic rely on foreign imports, or was it more localized?

texts:
I'm curious to what degree Rome of the late republic was fed by imports as opposed to local goods. (Rome in this case meaning the city and the Italian peninsula, as opposed to her client states and various holdings.) I've read several times that Egypt was "the breadbasket" of the Roman republic, but I've also heard that the Romans exported cereals to the greater mediterranean.

So could the people of the Italian peninsula support themselves agriculturally, or was the population reliant on plunder, tribute, and foreign trade? If so, what were the major sources of Roman food imports? Thanks for your time.


texts: Ethnic Germans in Russian service in Poland

texts:
General Brusilov wrote in his memoirs that a few years before the war he was serving in a high military position in Russian-controlled Poland and that he was appalled by the fact that all Russian high officers of government there, civil and military (except for him) were ethnic Germans.

I would like to know if this was indicative of an actual pattern or was just a random fluke magnified in retrospect and coloured by subsequent war against Germany and a general Russian-nationalist outlook on part of Brusilov.

EDIT: Here is the relevant passage:

  Не могу не отметить странного впечатления, которое производила на меня
  тогда вся варшавская высшая администрация. Везде стояли во главе
  немцы: генерал-губернатор Скалон, женатый на баронессе Корф,
  губернатор — ее родственник барон Корф, помощник генерал-губернатора
  Эссен, начальник жандармов Утгоф, управляющий конторой
  государственного банка барон [52] Тизенгаузен, начальник дворцового
  управления Тиздель, обер-полицмейстер Мейер, президент города Миллер,
  прокурор палаты Гессе, управляющий контрольной палатой фон Минцлов,
  вице-губернатор Грессер, прокурор суда Лейвин, штаб-офицеры при
  губернаторе Эгельстром и Фехтнер, начальник Привислинской железной
  дороги Гескет и т. д. Букет на подбор! Я был назначен по уходе
  Гершельмана и был каким-то резким диссонансом: «Брусилов». Зато после
  меня получил это место барон Рауш фон Траубенберг. Любовь Скалона к
  немецким фамилиям была поразительна.

  Начальником штаба был, однако, русский генерал Николай Алексеевич
  Клюев, очень умный, знающий, но желавший сделать свою личную карьеру,
  которую ставил выше интересов России. Потом, в военное время,
  оказалось, что Клюев не обладал воинским мужеством. Но в то время
  этого, конечно, я знать не мог.

Google translation:

  I can not fail to mention the strange impression that the
  whole Warsaw higher administration  made on me. Everywhere the Germans had led:
  Governor General Skalon married to Baroness Korff, the governor - her
  relative Baron Korf, Assistant Governor General Essen, head of the
  gendarmerie Utgof, office manager of the State Bank Baron
  Tiesenhausen, head of Palace Administration Tizdel, Chief Police Officer
  Meyer, Town President Miller, Chief Prosecutor Hesse, manager of
  Chamber of Control Mintslov, the vice-governor Gresser, the
  prosecutor of the court Leyvin, staff officers fir the Governor
  Egelstrom and Fehtner, head of Privislinskoy railway Gesket etc....
  A genuine bouquet! I was assigned after Gershelman left and was a sharp
  dissonance: "Brusilov." But after I left, in my place came Baron Rausch Von
  Traubenberg. Skalon's love of the German name was striking.

  The Chief of staff, however, was the Russian General Nikolai Klyuev, very
  intelligent, knowledgeable, but who wanted to make his personal
  career, which he put above the interests of Russia. Then, in time of
  war, it was found that did not possess any military courage. But at the time,
  of course, I could not know that.

UPDT: I am interested in the pre-WWI period.

UPDT: Bounty ending soon... hurry up :)


texts:
Before the World War Iran was a colony of Great Britain.
I am sure that the Islamization of today's Iran is the result of Great Britain's policy on Iran before the World War.
However, no data has been published on this issue.

What was Great Britain's role in the Islamization of today's Iran?


texts: What was the average height in Classical Greece?

texts:
This is a follow-up for
Average height of Ancient Roman Men and Women? :

I'm curious what was the average height and build of men & women citizens of Greek states (Athens, Sparta, etc) in 7th-3rd centuries BC as well as civilizations they interacted with (Persians, Egyptians).

In particular, were there height and build differences between the above states/peoples statistically significant in comparison with height and build variations within individual state/people?


texts: Is there any consensus among modern day historians of how Hitler was killed or if he was killed, and is there any significant proof that he did die so as to disprove the conspiracy theorists?


texts:
The origin and spreading out of the Celtic peoples is a topic shrouded in mystery, at least to my mind. While the Germanic migrations occurred during the late Imperial Roman period and Early Middle Ages, the Celtic migrations generally occurred much earlier, as there is historical evidence of the Gaels existing in Ireland since at least 500 B.C.

The Brythonic Celts, as opposed to the Gaelic (or Goedelic) Celts, have a somewhat better-known history, at least in the sense that we know well that they inhabited the lands of Ancient Britannia (specifically England, Wales, and southern Scotland) and later Brittany in modern France (following the Anglo-Saxon invasions of England). Geographically, this is a fairly localised region, and well documented thanks to Roman sources.

A few facts we do know about the ancient Gaelic peoples:

They are a branch of the Celts, who ultimately are thought to originate with the Hallstatt culture in central Europe (Austria/Czech Republic/southern Poland/southern Germany), cerca 1500-1000 B.C.
Ancient Celtic peoples are documented to have settled in Gallaetia in Anatolia (by the Greeks), Bohemia (named after the Boii tribe), northern Italy (mentioned in the histories of the Roman Republic), most of modern France, Belgium, and parts of ancient Hispania.
The branching of the Celtic peoples into the Brythonic category and Gaelic category is based on well-studied linguistic principles, suggesting a major split in populations at one time.
Of these ancient regions, Gaul, Ireland, and Gallicia (as well as other regions of nothern Spain) were well-known Gaelic regions. The lesser-known Gallicia on the Polish/Ukraine border was also named after the Celtic tribes that once resided there.
The Gaelic folk of modern Scotland are known to descend from the Galiec immigrants from Ireland, who in the 5th (?) century A.D. founded the kingdom of Dal Raetia in western Scotland and the Hebrides. They displaced many of the original Brythonic/Pictish peoples, eventually assimilating along with the later arrivals of the Angles and Norsemen.

So my related questions are:

What was the documented first mention of Celtic (Gaelic) inhabitants in Ireland?
Where did the Gaelic inhabitants of Ireland, Gaul, and northern Spain come from? Was it a mutually common source or did one act as the progenitor of others?
Are there any well documented sources about the proto-Gaelic people (opposed to the more generic proto-Celtic people); their language/culture/location?

Additionally, if anyone has information on any Celtic subgroups that fall outside of the common Gaelic/Brythonic divisions (for example the Anatolian Celts?), I would be most interested to hear of such.


texts: What is the oldest graphic depiction of Attila?

texts: Wikimedia Commons has two images of Atilla the Hun from the Chronicon Pictum, dated around 1360. Is there anything (coin, portrait, bust, statue) older than that?


texts: What time period did these notes come from?

texts: This may be a bit broad of a question, but as I was going through some old things I found some Japanese monitary bills in varying currencies from I'm guessing around WWII, but I'm not sure. I cannt read Japanese, so can anyone tell me more info. about this? Thank you!


texts: Was Princess Elizabeth a van/ambulance driver/mechanic during WW2?

texts:
Wikipedia says of Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II),

  In February 1945, she joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service as an honorary second subaltern with the service number of 230873. She trained as a driver and mechanic and was promoted to honorary junior commander five months later.

Was this just a symbolic role, e.g. to encourage volunteers or boost morale, or did she actually do driving or mechanical work like any other driver or mechanic in the service? An older member of my family tells me she drove an ambulance. Is that true?


texts: Did Indigenous Australians burn land to get Europeans to move on, and did Europeans follow suit?

texts:
I was told by a guide that when European settlers originally arrived in Australia, Indigenous populations burnt their land to get the Europeans to move on.

I am aware that the Indigenous did burn their land already for purposes like fire-stick farming, so it kind of makes sense that they might do this early in order to make the land uninhabitable for the Europeans.

The second part the guide told me was that some Australians actually copied the Aboriginals doing this. At the very beginning of Australia's colonization, the Europeans thought that the Aboriginals were trying to tend to the land and therefore copied several times.

The guide said this caused several large bushfires which devastated the land irreparably.

I'm just wondering if anyone can confirm whether this is true or not and if it provides some sort of suitable (preferably first hand) source.


texts: Did the Byzantines ever attempt to move their capital to Rome?

texts:
Why was Constantinople (almost) always the capital of the Byzantines?

I understand they did not have Rome under their control until the AD500's, but is there any specific reason why the Byzantines did not move to the historical Roman Empire capital of Rome?


texts: Why women in English-speaking world commonly assume husband's family name after marriage, but women in China do not?

texts:
In English-speaking world, it is a common practice that women assume their husband's family name after marriage. This seems to be a practice that somewhat reflect patrilineality.
In contrast, although China is a more patrilineal society than English-speaking world, assuming husband's family name is not a common practice in China.

Could anyone offer some historical explanation for this seemingly contradictory phenomenon?


texts: What was a "searcher" associated with a funeral in 1690?

texts:
Life In A Noble Household 1641-1700 by Gladys Scott-Thomson, 1937, analyses the household accounts of William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford. On page 236 is listed an entry from December 1690 where the Duke pays for the funeral of his huntsman, Thomas Nun.

  Paid for a coffin and shroud, etc., for him, with 2s. to the searchers and 6s. for a certificate: £1 5s 0d.

I'm guessing that the certificate was for burial in wool. But what did the searchers do?


texts: Why was anti-semitism such a central issue in German politics?

texts:
Provided that the Jewish population was not more than 0,76% why the presence of Jews was considered such an important problem in German politics and culture from the middle of the 19th century till the second world war?

There are lots of detailed descriptions of antisemitism during the second half of 19th and till the destruction of German Jewry. I don't know any writer explaining the reasons behind the emergence of anti-semitism on historical terms though there are some psychological explanations (Arrendt,Frankfurt school)


texts: Did Lenin precisely say "Trust is good, control is better"?

texts:
I've first heard of that quote in French ("La confiance n'exclut pas le contrôle"), so I was a bit surprised when I learnt that its translation in English was "Trust is good, control is better".

Literally, "La confiance n'exclut pas le contrôle" translates to "Trust does not rule out control", which I find makes the quote quite funny partly because it sounds like a contradiction. The English translation however has none of that.

So, what translation is the most correct?


texts: Was Christianity legalized during the Meiji Restoration?

texts: Also were men given the right to vote during the Restoration?


texts:
Every four years, besides some certain years, we have a leap year, where a 29th day is added to February in the Gregorian calendar, making the year 366 days long, rather than 365. This is to make up for the fact that a true astronomical year is not exactly 365 days.

My question is, why is February 29th the leap day? Is there any specific event or special occasion that occurred on February 29th?


texts: How wealthy was Singapore at its independence (1965)?

texts:
According to this article Is Singapore the Perfect Country for Our Times?

  Singapore's defining achievement is summed up in the title of its
  longtime leader Lee Kuan Yew's memoir, From Third World to First. When
  it split off from Malaysia a half-century ago to become a separate
  nation of dubious viability, Singapore had little going for it, other
  than a determination to become whatever it needed to be --

However, I have heard many opinions on the subject. Some people claim that Singapore was a complete backwater and its prosperity now was due to its leaders' competence, while others claim that it was already a wealthy and important port.

How wealthy was Singapore at the time of its independence in 1965? Wealth can be reflected in its GDP/capita (of course with some adjustment to make the number meaningful in today's terms), poverty rate, level of infrastructure, etc.


texts:
I've read his book The Viceroys of Ireland and am trying to find out more about him. The book was published in 1912 and I can't find any more information about him.

I was able to dig up references to two people who might or might not be him:

A writer who published many detective books in the period 1925-1941.
A priest who helped De Valera escape from prison:

  Collins and Boland went to London and then back to Dublin. The others
  journeyed back to Manchester by way of Sheffield. Milroy and McGarry
  were hidden by leading Manchester IRA commander Liam MacMahon in his
  own house, while De Valera stayed with a local priest, Father Charles
  O’Mahony. The police were looking for De Valera, of course, and
  MacMahon was warned by Thomas Walsh, a sympathetic detective in the
  Manchester force, that they were getting close. On 18th February,
  dressed as a priest and escorted by two young Irish women, De Valera
  travelled back to Dublin. At the beginning of June he went to the
  United States.

However, the first one seems to have little connection to Irish affairs, by the titles of his books, and the second one doesn't sound like the author of the book I've read (but who knows...).


texts: Was there a state in history where influence of sport fans on politics was greater than in medieval Byzantine Empire?

texts:
It is known that sport fans played a prominent role in Byzantine politics. Initially there were four teams: the greens, the reds, the whites and the blues. But later the reds and the whites were absorbed, so the main contention was between the greens and the blues.

The enmity between the teams was so high that they had separate sectors of the city's wall to defend in case of a war. Various emperors were supported by different teams, and many coups were staged out of this strife.

I wonder whether there was any other state in history where the sports fans influenced politics to a similar degree?


texts: What was the relationship between Indian caste system and martial skills?

texts:
I know that in the area now known as India, there was a rigid caste system as a part of traditional Hindu beliefs. I also know that there are a number of Indian martial arts going back centuries. I have a vague idea that a spear was considered to be more noble than a sword, and that the sword was considered more noble than unarmed fighting, which was seen as barbaric. People in lower castes were forbidden to use any sort of weapon that was considered above them.

My question is: What, if any, was the relationship between caste and martial skill? As in, what castes were allowed to use what weapons/styles?


texts: Help to identify this sword (Confederate)?

texts:
I inherited this sword from my uncle.
It is by S & K (Schnitzler & Kirschbaum) with the inspector stamp of 'F.C' although the 'F' is not clear to me.
Is it a copy?

Measurements are:

Blade is 89cm and 107cm with handle, 3cm wide and 1cm thick closest to handle.

If you know anything about this sword(type of sword), I would very much like to hear it.

Please let me know if you need any more information.

Top of sword
http://www.norfolkseoservice.co.uk/mythleg/IMG_5272.JPG

http://www.norfolkseoservice.co.uk/mythleg/IMG_5270.JPG

Makers Mark
http://www.norfolkseoservice.co.uk/mythleg/IMG_5250.JPG

Inspector Mark
http://www.norfolkseoservice.co.uk/mythleg/IMG_5249.JPG

Sword Edge 1
http://www.norfolkseoservice.co.uk/mythleg/IMG_5265.JPG

Sword Edge 2
http://www.norfolkseoservice.co.uk/mythleg/IMG_5261.JPG

Sword Edge 3
http://www.norfolkseoservice.co.uk/mythleg/IMG_5260.JPG

Thanks kindly


texts:
I have multiple sources regarding the code of Hammurabi/Hammurapi and they have two conflicting dates of origin. Some give a date of compilation at near 1795-1750 B.C and some date it at 2250 B.C. Various internet sites have used both dates.

Which dating is more accurate? Looking at my sources it would seem an 18th century B.C. dating reflects current scholarship.

My older sources list a 2250 date. But the Avalon Project has an introduction from 1915 which lists a 1795-1750 date.
(McKelvie's Megaphone History and Law 1920, and Duncan, George S. "The Code of Moses and the Code of Hammurabi. 1904")

My newer sources list a date 1792-1750.
(Coogan, Michael David. A Reader of Ancient Near Eastern Texts: Sources for the Study of the Old Testament. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. Print. and Roth, Martha Tobi., Harry A. Hoffner, and Piotr Michalowski. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Atlanta, GA: Scholars, 1997. Print.)


texts: Where can I find what the cost of a train ticket in the USA was in 1930?

texts: I am looking for the cost of a train ticket in the USA from like New York City to Los Angles for example in 1930. I found it on for an airplane ticket but not a train. Not sure if this Stack Exchange is the right place or not. I have done research online and can not seem to get an answer. The links always takes me to the Amtrak web site which is no good for me.


texts: Why were fragments of the Mongol empire named after colors?

texts:
Why were the successor fragments of the Mongol empire named after colors after the death of Genghis Khan?

For example, blue horde, golden horde and white horde.


texts: Why wasn't the DeLorean DMC-12 popular on the market?

texts: The DMC-12 seemed to be more convenient for parking because of its doors. It has no paint, instead just stainless steel, so you shouldn't worry about scratches. Why such brilliant car had no success ?


texts: When has the U.S. refused to pay its debts?

texts: In the late 1700s the U.S. refused to pay a large debt to France for money loaned during the American Revolution.  (In this instance Congress decided.  I do not know if the President had the ability to veto this act.) Have there been other times where the U.S. decided not to pay a debt?  Has it been a decision that Congress made or the U.S. President?


texts: When and why China started to make a difference in the superpower arena?

texts: China is starting to be more and more remarked on as a superpower, but this surely didn't happen overnight, so what would be that decade that was very auspicious for China and why?


texts: Why were China and India able to peacefully co-exist for so long?

texts:
It is quite interesting to observe that for millennia, two neighbouring countries, ethnically, linguistically, racially diverse (and for some time religiously as well) were able to co-exist for thousands of years without wars in between. European powers been fighting each other for centuries, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Mongols, Arabs, etc.

How could India and China maintain the peace for that long (ignoring some recent post WWII border skirmishes)?


texts: How old is Philippe Buache's map of New Discoveries?

texts:
(See 6MB high-resolution version.)

The University of Hawai'i at Manoa owns a copy of this map of the Pacific by Phillippe Buache. Its library record gives the date "Circa 1750"; I wonder if we can be more specific.

The map shows ports in California that were not founded until 1769, though according to Erwin Gudde, the port names predate their foundation. It includes the legendary Pacific islands Rica de Plata and Rica de Oro as well as Los Jardines; I don't know when the existence of these places was debunked.

A lower bound for the year is 1741, as the routes of Bering's second expedition in that year are shown; an upper bound could be 1773, when a book by Captain Cook brought Hawai'i to European attention. If Buache had known about Hawai'i, the map could likely have extended a little farther south to include it.

Can other clues here help narrow in on when the map was drawn?


texts: Am I imagining this or did I just found one of the oldest "hidden" erotic artworks ever?

texts:
I was just wiki-walking around my country's (Netherlands) history when I stumbled upon this topic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ger%C3%B0r

She is the wife of the god Freyr, whom apparently the Frisians and the Frisiavones were a cultus worshipping him.

Now I looked at the gullgubber of that page and the texts of this image on the Gerdur page says the two figures (representing Freyr and Gerdur according to the Dutch page of Gerdur) have a "leafy bough" between them. But perhaps it's just my dirty mind but I immediately thought "That's no leafy bough! That's a ... and it's not between two people but between a pair of ..."

I just want confirmation from a historian to see if I'm the first one to notice this and whether or not this was indeed the artists intention ;-).


texts: How was law enforcement handled in medieval China before professional police?

texts:
This question came from:
How was law enforcement handled in large US cities before professional police?
China (Zhōng Gúo 中国) has had very large cities with more than a million people since the early middle ages. For example Chang'an (长安) around the years 600 to 900 had approximately 2 million people. How did they manage law enforcement and control before modern times?


texts:
The Ortega family at Rancho Refugio did a brisk business in clandestine trade with visiting ships.

According to Katherine Plummer, in March of 1815, the Forester stopped there and loaded firewood, salted beef, and 11 hogs. That's too much pork to serve at once so perhaps the pigs were salted or caged.

According to Antipatr Baranov's journal, in September (O.S.) of the same year the Russian-American Company's Ilmena came by and "bought one cow for ship's provisions". I presume it was slaughtered immediately. At another rendezvous six days later, Mr. Ortega "brought some cattle for provisions"; the ship needed "no more than six bulls". The transaction never happened because the landing party was arrested.

The Ilmena was a 200-ton brig with a crew of 25. One cow a week for provisions seems reasonable. I wondered if the translation was accurate and checked the original; indeed the word was Быков, bulls. I'm not sure if that word can describe breeding pairs. What was the crew going to do with six bulls?


texts: Why were troops with bayonets often effective against enemy cavalry even though the bayonet was a "secondary" weapon?

texts:
The bayonet was introduced in the late 17th century as a knife (later a short sword) attached to a musket, to enable the musketeer to protect himself when reloading their single-shot weapons. As such, it was something of an "adjunct" weapon to the gun itself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayonet

Anti-cavalry tactics in the late 18th, early 19th century often consisted of musketeers with bayonets "forming square" to resist cavalry charges. These resistances often succeeded, whereas during earlier periods, such as the Middle Ages, soldiers armed with "pole" weapons such as spears were usually at a disadvantage versus cavalry (unless there were compensating features such as rough ground or bad weather), even though these were their "primary" weapons.

What gave soldiers with bayonets (and muskets) their effectiveness? Did the one volley of musket fire sufficiently disorganize the cavalry to give the bayoneters their advantage? Did the presence of muskets force a change in cavalry tactics (e.g. the removal of armor) that favored the musketeer? Were they just better-drilled soldiers than the spear carriers?


texts: What area of Los Angeles does this historical map depict?


texts: What role has a generally armed populace had on resisting a **potentially repressive government?**

texts:
I've been seeing a meme to the effect, "If the Jews had guns they wouldn't have all gone to the death camps" This has usually been cited by a 2nd amendment advocate

One of the answers has a line, "...idea of firearm ownership as a moral instrument of maintaining republican virtue and ensuring that the government fears the people and thus never dares to be repressive."

This comes closer to capturing my original notion.  So perhaps my question should be rephrased,

"To what extent has a well armed populace prevented government repression"

Now there are reasons why this isn't so.  Much of the Final Solution was done quietly enough that most people were barely aware of their neighbours vanishing.  There was a strong dis-information program of letter from the putative work camps.

When the Warsaw ghetto Jews understood what the trip to Treblinka meant they revolted, and with the relatively small number of weapons they had, they took an honour guard with them.  (Somewhere around 300 German deaths.  A few hundred pistols, under a hundred rifles, some grenades and the ubiquitous molotov cocktails.)

So I'm looking for examples of:

An identifiable minority under a repressive government that maintained at least respect through force of arms.

Sort of examples:

The Khmer Rouge in effect destroyed the upper class of Cambodia.  Could this have been different if there were signifcant arms amoung the upper class?
England during the century leading up to Agincourt and Crecy with commoners having long bows.
Would Rwanda have been more or less bloody with firearms?

In nations with civil unrest are there greater or fewer violent deaths when both sides are armed.

What role does a generally armed populace have on resisting oppression?


texts: What was the opinion of Hitler regarding pornography?


texts: How did "de-Nazification" efforts by Austria's occupiers proceed after WW2?

texts:
In his book, At Memory's Edge by James E. Young, the author states:

  In fact, unlike Germany’s near obsession with its Nazi-past, Austria’s relationship to its wartime history has remained decorously submerged, politely out of sight. Austria was a country that had (with the tacit encouragement of its American and Soviet occupiers) practically founded itself on the self-serving myth that it was Hitler’s first victim. That some 50% of the Nazi SS was composed of Austrians, or that Hitler himself was Austrian born was never denied. But these historical facts also never found a place in Austria’s carefully constructed post-war persona.

How did "de-Nazification" efforts by Austria's occupiers proceed post-WW2 as opposed to in Germany?


texts: Were naval mines an underutilized weapon in WW2?

texts: Why did the Germans (and Allies for that matter) not devote more energy to the mining of enemy controlled waters (in the Med, British and North American waters for the Germans and Med, Baltic and Norweigan waters for the Western Allies)?


texts: Pre-1901/1902 US Presidential Protection

texts:
I've spent a little while looking around online about the origins of US Presidential protection - while it has become apparent that the US Secret Service became officially responsible for Presidential protection in 1902 (As part of the reaction to the assassination of President McKinley) I can't find much information about any protective measures before that date.

So, was anyone responsible for the protection of a US President before 1902? If so, who?

This final question may be impossible to answer, was there any reason why presidential protection was considered un-necessary, or was refused/resisted, before 1902?


texts: Why was Saturnino Martín Cerezo honored by the Spanish government?

texts:
Saturnino Martín Cerezo (page not available in English) a lieutenant in the Spanish army, was involved in the famous Siege of Baler, in which a small contingent of Spanish soldiers held out against Filipino forces for a period of over 330 days. This event is well-known in Spain, being dramatized in films such as Los Ultimos de Filipinas (Our Last Men in the Phillipines). After the death of the captain, Cerezo took command of the soldiers until the end of the siege. For this action, he received various honors in Spain including the Laurel of San Fernando, a healthy pension, and several streets named in his honor.
However, the siege only continued because, presumably, Cerezo ignored evidence that Spain no longer was in control of the Phillipines, which led to the deaths of over a dozen soldiers. More notably, Cerezo ignored or dismissed several envoys sent by the Spanish government, including a lieutenant colonel (Aguilar), refusing to surrender, which seems like insubordination. In this (admittedly rather hagiographical) article, the author quotes from a telegram sent by Aguilar's superior, a general, to the Ministry of War:

Regreso con teniente coronel Aguilar, que estuvo en Baler y convenció filipinos sitiadores embarque destacamento con todos los honores de guerra; pero teniente Martín, jefe del mismo, negóse en absoluto a abandonar Baler, a pesar de mis órdenes y razones Jefe de Estado Mayor. Personalmente daré cuenta a V.E. de motivos que se cree esto obedece.

With my best guess about archaic Spanish and telegram abbreviations, this says:

I am returning with lieutenant colonel Aguilar, who was in Baler and convinced the besieging Filipino forces to let the regiment embark with all the honors of war, but Lieutenant Martín, commander of the aforementioned, absolutely refused to abandon Baler, in spite of my orders and arguments, Chief of Staff. I will personally give account to Your Excellency of what are believed to be the reasons for this.

The writer of the article also suggests that the cause of "the last in the Phillipines" was not even viewed positively by the contemporaneous Spanish press.
Despite these actions, he was not reprimanded, but rather honored. I'm a bit surprised that, even when Cerezo's disobedience of orders was the object of discussion between a general and the Chief of Staff, he ended up being rewarded and subject to no censure.
Why did Cerezo receive so many honors despite having disregarded  the orders of his superiors, with negative consequences for the soldiers under his command? Why did he not face consequences for ignoring the envoys?


texts: What is the main reason for Germany's strong economy?

texts:
Okay, so I have been thinking a bit about this question for some time, and while I obviously havent read a lot of books about German history and economy specifically in which you might find good answers, I still can't seem to find an answer to this question from quickly googling.

So how come that Germany has succeeded in being such a strong/dominant economy? Seeing reprimands and damages they had to pay after both the First as well as Second World War (not to mention the hardships on the population, and the loss of big parts of the labor force). They still are one of the worlds strongest economies. And no significant natural resources (that I know of).

Is the answer as simple as they were pioneers within technology from even before and between the wars? And as such core industry/companies was still there (aswell as being developed during the war) and they had that to fall back on? So that the reprimands and setbacks suffered by the both wars was simply a setback that merely slowed the progress/development?


texts: In WW2, what was the barrel-change rate of the Bofors 40-mm?

texts:
I was just reading about the 37-mm 70K Naval gun that the Soviet Navy used for AA. I wanted to see how it compared to the Bofors 40-mm. These were both guns used on naval ships for anti-aircraft defense.

They seem pretty comparable, except possibly for one thing. Wikipedia says this:

  One drawback was that the 70K required a barrel change after every 100 rounds fired. To improve on this, a twin-barrel water cooled mount, the V-11 (called "W-11" in East Germany and Poland because of different Cyrillic transliteration), entered service in 1946, and was in production until 1957. A total of 1,872 V-11 mounts were built.

There was no citation for it. But...ouch, a barrel change every 100 rounds?

Then I went to the Russian version of the 70K wikipedia article. It clarifies:

  Охлаждение АУ было воздушным и являлось неудачным: так у 37-мм ствола с воздушным охлаждением длина непрерывной очереди составляла лишь 100 выстрелов по сравнению с не менее чем 158 у ствола с водяным охлаждением. После 100 выстрелов ствол с воздушным охлаждением либо следовало заменять (на что требовалось не менее 15 минут), либо ждать его охлаждения около 1,5 часов.

Google translation:

  The cooling of the AU was air and was unsuccessful: for a 37-mm barrel with air cooling, the length of the continuous queue was only 100 shots compared to no less than 158 for a barrel with water cooling. After 100 shots, the air-cooled barrel should either be replaced (which took at least 15 minutes), or it should wait about 1.5 hours for it to cool.

Again, it is uncited. But it does offer clarification on a few things.

So now my obvious question is how does this part compare to the Bofors? What is the barrel change rate of the Bofors 40-mm gun? I did look for this on google with various keywords like "Bofors 40 mm barrel change" and "swap" and "overheat". It all came up nil. I hope someone here has a good idea on how to find this info.


texts: Were there any long-term political effects on Argentina after Eichmann's kidnapping?

texts:
On the 11th May 1960 a group of Mossad agents kidnapped Adolf Eichmann, who was at this time living in Argentina under false name of "Ricardo Klement". After this kidnapping (and subsequent trial) became a public knowledge, the Argentine–Israeli relationships became bit tense, but in the end Israel officially stated that "They are sorry, it wasn't really us but some unofficial individuals" (source):

  In Argentina, news of the abduction was met with a violent wave of antisemitism carried out by far-right elements, including the Tacuara Nationalist Movement. Argentina requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council in June 1960, after unsuccessful negotiations with Israel, as they regarded the capture to be a violation of their sovereign rights. In the ensuing debate, Israeli representative (and later Prime Minister) Golda Meir claimed that the abductors were not Israeli agents but private individuals and so the incident was only an "isolated violation of Argentine law". On 23 June, the Council passed Resolution 138 which agreed that Argentine sovereignty had been violated and requested that Israel should make reparations. Israel and Argentina issued a joint statement on 3 August, after further negotiations, admitting the violation of Argentinian sovereignty but agreeing to end the dispute

But I am more interested about the effect on Argentina itself - suddenly, it became a public knowledge that they were harboring a well-known Nazi war criminal. Was there some sort of condemnation from the other countries? Outcry from the citizens? Or maybe it has been used as a proof that "those Jews cannot be trusted"?

I've tried to Google it, but I've hit on a few paywalls like here and here.


texts: When were country of origin labels (e.g. Made in France) introduced?

texts: I am interested in knowing when, where, and by whom "country of origin" labels (e.g. "Made in France") were first used on consumer goods.


texts: Did the Missouri Compromise Signify the Era of Good Feelings?

texts: In their book, "Generations," William Strauss and Neil Howe (S&H) opine that there are occasional "Eras of Good Feelings," such as the original one (1815-1830), and similar periods following a "secondary" war (e.g. the 1950s after the Korean War). Even though such eras are actually riddled with lots of political issues, S&H believe that "compromises" such as the Missouri Compromise are more likely to take place at such times than other times in American history. Why did they believe this? Do other historical authorities share this view?


texts: Sieges: Average Attacker to Defender Ratio in Middle Ages

texts:
I have read that attackers should outnumber defenders, 20 to 1 or better 50-100 to 1 in sieges in a book about conquest of İstanbul, though I can not find its reference right now. I remember that this book claims that no attacker has even won a battle with lesser numbers without help (treachery) from inside in middle ages and before.

Is there any references about these numbers, or similar numbers about sieges' opposing forces ratio. It is understandable that attackers should outnumber defenders, but how much?

I would like to learn average  Average Attacker to Defender Ratio in Middle Ages for sieges with references to journal articles or books.

EDIT:
Actually, any reference to respected historian is enough for me.
Comments give reference of Sun Tzu but I would like to get number for Middle Ages European if it is possible. But if it does not exists, it seems I would have to accept Sun Tzu Art of War.


texts:
(Not sure if this belongs to politics or history).
Which is the oldest, still current, government debt?
The answer of course depends on definitions since debts usually are "rolled over" at least every couple of decades and with time you can't separate pound A that was borrowed at time X and pound B that was borrowed at time Y. I am looking for something along these lines:

A state that has been constantly in debt.
A state that haven't  defaulted on their payments during the period, or if they defaulted and then started to pay again, paid all interest that was due.
Never any agreement with the debt holders to restructure the debt (e.g., a "haircut" where the debt holders agree to only receive, say, 50 % of the actual debt).

I guess some common-sense-restrictions about changing currency (e.g., Germany - the introduction of D-mark after WW2 could probably be seen as an interruption that disqualifies it while the switch from D-mark to Euro 2002 is not disqualifying.) and peaceful merging/splitting of countries and similar events also applies.
I suspect countries like Switzerland and Sweden, that are both old and haven't been to war or revolutions for hundreds of years, are likely candidates.


texts: How do we measure the adequacy of pre-modern monetary supply?

texts:
In a comment to a response to another question, P. Geerkens made the offhand comment that:

  the monetary supply of Europe was grossly inadequate until New World silver arrived.

I'm intrigued.  How do we measure whether the pre-modern money supply was adequate.  How do we collect the data to measure concepts like deflation? If we assume that an inadequate monetary supply causes a rise in barter, how do we measure the rise in barter?  Is there a significant rise in the search for precious metals? A change in the rate of debasement?  Can we detect the expected responses to deflation (deferred consumption of goods, changes in loan rates, etc.)

Where do we get the underlying numbers to reach these conclusions?
What is the methodology?

Although this question may lie on the boundary between economics and history, I'm asking about the historical methods; I understand deflation and how to measure it; I'm interested in how historians approach the specifically historical side of the problem.


texts:
Some years ago, I read this comment:

  On a tangent, a Hungarian friend of mine who is a history teacher once told me that the earliest record of the Hungarian language is not, in fact, the list of land owners’ names contained in the “Tihany Abbey Document” dating from the 11th century. Apparently a Byzantine source from 200 years earlier mentions an emabssy from Constantinople meeting a group of pre-Pannonian Magyars (referred to at the time as “Turkoi” in Byzantine sources) which says that these Turkoi spoke ‘Turkoi’ as well as their own special language. This language was unintelligible to the other “Turkoi” and the one most common expression was recorded as “Bazamak!”

Can anyone confirm, and maybe point me towards that source?

Edit: I'm looking to see if the statement is accurate, if there is such a source, or if that's just what someone made up.


texts: At what point did the United States have a truly federal army?

texts:
Wikipedia states that:

The Congress of the Confederation created the current United States Army on 3 June 1784.

But how much was it truly a federal force? I assume it had one central command from the start, but on the lower levels, how much was it really a federal force, as opposed to individual US states' armies?
My recollection, from movies, is that during The American Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, the units were still drafted and organized at a state level; you have 1st Ohio Infantry, 3rd Missouri Infantry, etc. And that is nearly a century after independence!
More details on Wikipedia: list of American Civil War units by state versus US regular army; if the latter can be considered the truly federal army then it was clearly a minority.
And then you have movies from Korea and Vietnam, where the units were put together from all corners of the US, no more Ohio or Missouri infantry. When did this transition happen?
Are there still remnants of some per state divisions today?
I am mainly asking because if the EU Army is ever going to happen, how much far behind it would be compared to the US ;-)


texts: How do Friedman and Bernanke's explanations about the causes of the Great Depression compare?

texts: I know that both Friedman and Bernanke wrote papers (or books, in Friedman's case) about the cause of the Great Depression. How do their points of view compare and contrast?


texts: What was that early TV or cinema commercial which was (maybe) the first to feature a shower/somebody showering?

texts:
I don't remember when I saw or heard this, where or in what form, but I either listened to the radio maybe 10-15 years ago, or watched it on TV around the same time. I think they were talking either about early forms of advertising, or shampoo ads, or something else entirely. The only memories I have left of this "occurrence" are the following:

It was about a shower, or shampoo, soap, shower hats or something related to that.
The year was somewhere in 1910-1935, most likely ~1925 or ~1930.
I remember a black-and-white shower scene (not showing anything nude, of course), featuring a smiling young lady with short black hair, but I'm unsure if I really saw this with my eyes or just imagined it.
I think it featured a soothing/relaxing/dreamy soundtrack of some sort, sounding very "watery" or "flowing".
It was in English language and I'm 99% sure that it was in/from the USA.

I remember this short sequence and the feeling it evoked in me. For some reason, I found it really fascinating to see this early video commercial, and I wish I could again see it and read more about it.

Sorry for being so vague, but the things I want to re-discover the most are always the foggiest memories!

In this case, there's a pretty big chance that somebody will instantly know what I'm talking about. My guess is that it was something along the lines of the first shampoo/shower TV or cinema commercial ever. Probably cinema since TV had barely been invented back then...

Do you know what I'm talking about?


texts: What were the crime rates In the American Old West?

texts:
Hollywood filmography presented a violent and morally complex vision of the American West during circa 1850 to 1900, according to which the West was a place where life was insecure and where property was precariuos: rapes, burglaries and robberies were common.

How closely did the history of the West match the filmography constructed by Hollywood? How common were these crimes?


texts: Was Pericles the only famous loss from the plague in Athens?

texts:
Reading about the Plague of Athens in The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, I was struck by this question.

The plague killed an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 people in a city full of famous people, but I can only cite Pericles as a loss, along his wife and their two sons, Paralus and Xanthippus, and according to Plutarch, his sister too.

Did any other known people die during that plague?

By famous or known I mean someone whose name has been recorded with at least some deeds or profession. It may be a philosopher, an artist, a politician or a general, or someone related. This means that Myrtis is discarded.

I already checked Wikipedia category 430 BC deaths onwards until 426 BC, with no results.


texts: Did the Olympics make the Star Spangled Banner the US national anthem?

texts:
A long, long time ago, I remember watching a TV miniseries about the first Olympics of the modern era in 1896.

One of the amusing substories I remember involved the USA's National Anthem and the Olympic band. The story was that the band leader asked the USA delegation for their national anthem to play in the event. He was told that the USA didn't have one, and was provided a list of three songs that are commonly used.

The "amusing" part was that the band leader picked his favorite of the three, but one of his band members prefered The Star Spangled Banner, and secretly replaced the band leader's choice with it. Thereafter whenever the USA won something, we got a shot of the anthem being played, with the one band member looking smug and the band leader looking disgusted.

I'm wondering how much of this is true, and how much was just made up for the drama. It does appear to be true that The Star Spangled Banner didn't become the USA National Anthem until 1931, but how much (if any) of that had to do with the Olympics? Was it in fact the song played for the USA at the 1896 games?


texts: When was the first confirmed circumnavigation of Africa?

texts:
There has been debate over the years about whether the Phoenicians and Egyptians circumnavigated Africa. An expedition beginning in 2008 set out to prove just that, with a Phoenician-inspired ship. While the voyage was in theory possible, there isn't enough evidence to prove that it actually happened.

So, when was the first confirmed circumnavigation of Africa? The Wikipedia article for this might look thorough, but it doesn't actually say when Africa was first circumnavigated. It only mentions the [unconfirmed] voyage in antiquity, and the 2008 project. One source says Vasco da Gama circumnavigated Africa around 1500, but that's the only reference I can find, so I can't tell if it's accurate.


texts:
Background

Most narratives about the events during the Umayyad rule come from sources that were compiled during the succeeding Abbasid rule. Since the Abbasids came to power through armed insurrection against the Umayyad government, it is possible that certain biases may have crept in narratives written during their rule. One way to answer this question is to look at older Arabic sources, or look at third party information, for example Byzantine writings describing the events in Syria after the fall of Damascus.

Question

I am looking for primary sources from the time of the Umayyad reign (i.e. 750 CE or earlier). Are there things like manuscripts or books compiled during this time, royal archives, letters sent to foreign powers like the Byzantines, travelogues of this time etc? Basically, any sources of information about the Umayyad rule, administration, and civil strife etc. that did not come to us from historians or scholars living in the succeeding Abbasid rule. Such sources could even be from Andalusia where the vestiges of Umayyad rule survived a little longer.

Specific sources

I have heard about a controversial personal diary of an Andalusian governor (Hurr), called "Tazkirah Hurr ibn Abdul Rahman", but I am unable to find whether it is real, where it exists (manuscript or copies) or any academic description.

Disclaimer: Cross-posted from https://islam.stackexchange.com/q/20276/10523


texts: Who was the real beginner of Lord Ganesha festival?

texts:
Introduction

Ganesha is one of the most well-known and loved gods in Hinduism and is admired by most members of a Hindu family. Ganesh Chaturthi, one of the most popular festivals in India brings people from all caste, religion and creed together. The 10-days festival is celebrated usually in August or September depending on the Hindu calendar.

Celebration Places

Though this festival is celebrated across India, the states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa are the top states for celebrating this festival with big enthusiasm. With Indians residing in every corner of the world, this festival is more like international now. So, we take you to the countries, apart from India, where you can enjoy this festival of love, happiness, celebrations, colours and festive dishes. Countries like Canada, Mauritius, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Burma, US, UK and Fiji celebrate this festival and many of mentioned countries’ government have declared a public holiday for that day.

Current Contradiction

There are many contradictions going on in Pune city, Maharashtra state, India about the issue of a person who has started the Lord Ganesha festival in order to gather the people for better purpose.

I want to know - who is a real person behind the process of starting Lord Ganesha festival? I mean really the Indian Freedom Fighter "Lokmanya Tilak" or "Bhausaheb Laxman Jawale"?

In history, It has been written as 'Lokmanya Tilak' but now since 2 years, few people are saying that the real beginner of this festival is not he but someone other.

Citations

The required citations are,

1) The Lord Ganesha Festival --
Ganesha, Link-2

2) Freedom Fighter 'Lokmanya Tilak' -- Tilak, Link-2, Video Link

3) News about contradiction - News Paper link, Link-2, Deccan Herald News


texts: What is the oldest exsistence of physical exercising equipments found in world, through literary evidences or archaeological  excavations?


texts: To what can we trace the idea of "civic responsibility"?

texts:
Can the sense of "civic responsibility" (i.e. the individual sense of participation and duty towards the construction and maintenance of a public order, and its enactment), be traced historically as the product of a culture?

In a discussion I had, an argument was proposed that, in Western Europe, the sense of civic responsibility was the cultural product of nationalism, from the post revolutionary / Napoleonian society and culminating with fascism.

Even this proposition might seem reductionist, it makes some sense. It seems that for nationalism to function it requires a participation of the civilian, taking part in the national project. On the contrary, the pre-modern, absolutist or feudal society seems to exclude the common man from the conscious participation in the construction of the state (even though the state may in fact still depend on the common man for its economical or political existence).

So is this proposition true and to what extent? Can the sense of "civic responsibility" be traced in the history of ideas?

My background is in South Asian studies, so I am not familiar with European history, even though I followed a curriculum in Europe.


texts: Were Mongol or Chinese cavalry charges among the largest in history?

texts:
In 1683 at the Battle of Vienna, 20,000 Polish, German and Austrian cavalry charged the Ottoman lines in what Wikipedia says is the largest cavalry charge in history. Other references are more cautious: this page  and one of the Wiki references say “largest known” while 10 Heroic Cavalry Charges says “one of the largest”.

There may be some European / American bias, though. Looking at the list of Notable Charges, almost all those listed are European or from the American Civil War. No mention of the Mongols or any of the armies of Chinese dynasties such as the Sui or the Ming. Of course, the American civil war was comparatively recent so figures are more likely to be available and reliable.

Nonetheless, considering the size of some of the armies that these eastern powers had, these omissions seem to be rather glaring. In Richard A. Gabriel’s Genghis Khan's Greatest General: Subotai the Valiant the author, referring to the Mongols, states that

  The army was almost entirely composed of cavalry, with 40 percent
  heavy cavalry, and the remaining 60 percent designated light cavalry.
  There were no organic Mongol infantry units...

Gabriel also says that

  The charge of the heavy cavalry was always the main player in the
  endgame of a Mongol attack.

As Genghis Khan could field an army of up to 100,000 Mongols (see also the Battle of Yehuling) it seems likely that some of the cavalry charges could easily have exceeded 20,000. Then there is the army of Fu Jian in 383 AD which apparently included 270,000 cavalry, and that of Yang Liang in 586 AD numbering “300,000, mostly composed of archer cavalry.” for the invasion of Korea.

There is, of course, a problem knowing the real numbers in many cases. For example, numbers for the Battle of Mohi in 1241 vary considerably.

I’ve been unable to find much information on the size of cavalry charges for either Chinese or Mongol armies and whether or not any of them surpassed in numbers the one at the Battle of Vienna in 1683.

Are there any primary sources on the size of cavalry charges for the Mongol or Chinese armies which are considered reliable by modern historians?

If not, have modern historians been able to make any estimates based on what evidence is available? Do we have any idea what proportion of the cavalry any of these armies might have committed to a single cavalry charge?

I would accept an answer for either the Chinese or the Mongols. Although I'm not asking about other armies (including Arab, Persian etc. might make the question too broad), I would be interested in reliable primary sources / estimates made which match or surpass the Vienna 1683 cavalry charge.


texts: Why are Indian states divided based on the native language spoken?

texts:
All the Indian states are divided on the basis of language the native people speak such that each state has a native language which is not well spoken in other states.

Is this kind of  division followed only in India or are there other countries which are divided on the basis of language?


texts: How did attitudes of German citizens toward Hitler and the Nazi Party change over the course of the pre-war and the post-war periods?

texts:
The March 1933 federal election was the final democratic election before WWII – in which the Nazi party received 43.91% of the vote.
I'm curious how quickly the attitudes of ordinary German citizens shifted toward Hitler and the Nazis over time.
For example – is there any data about what it was that German people liked about the Nazis that they voted for him?
Did people who voted for the Nazis in 1933 later express regret about it?
After the war, was there shaming from Germans who didn't vote the Nazis towards those who did?
Do we have any data about this? I imagine opinion polling wasn't really a thing at the time.
What about letters saying 'you know, I really regret voting for Hitler'.
Or studies conducted after the war interviewing Germans about their feelings toward Hitler and their vote for him?


texts: What was the first recorded reference to the fact that the sun rises and sets at different times across the Earth?

texts: I am just wondering that when was first time people actually got to know the timezone difference, Day night difference in the human history?


texts: Determining the importance of Helmut Kohl's role in the German Reunification

texts:
A week ago, former German chancellor Helmut Kohl died. Now some of the orbituaries in common newspapers pick up again the debate on what Kohl's role was in the German Reunification, during which he was chancellor of West Germany. Some frame him as "The Chancellor Of Reunification", implying an important role in the process, others say "he was just there at the right place and the right time" and that the Reunification basically fell into his lap.

I would love to do a little research on this, but I have basically no idea how to properly conduct history research. German and english wikipedia articles on the Reunification subject talk about the Allied Forces leader's positions, but now about how they were eventually changed. Do I need to consult history books (and trust their authors to a degree not to be biased), are there proceedings from the Two Plus Four Treaty negotiations I can read? What else would you suggest?


texts:
First coin: it dates 1670. The coat of arms seems to show the checkerboard as in Flag of Bavaria, but that's speculation

Second coin: it dates 1770. The inscription beginns with D.G.MAX.IOS. etc., which could mean Maximillian Iosephus from Gods grace, however, this is again speculation.

Update: This coins most probably shows Maximillian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria. However, I still don't know which coin it is.

Some context: these coins were found in a small box with mostly coins from the 1890's from mainly the Austria-Hungarian Empire and successor states, and the German empire and successor states. The two coins depicted above, stand out from the others as these are considerably older.
As most of the coins stem from central Europe, and the find was made in Austria, I strongy suspect, that these coins might as well be from central Europe.


texts: Was Queen Elizabeth II ever the head of state of Namibia?

texts:
Let's set the scene, WW1 is over and part of the negotiations, and the only thing we're really focusing on here, is that Deutsch-Südwestafrika becomes administered by the Union of South Africa, the predecessor to modern South Africa and a dominion of the British Empire.

So here's the question, seeing as what we now call Namibia was never actually an official part of South Africa, rather just legally governed as a "League of Nations mandate", and that the League became a defunct organization, was the British monarch, also the head of state of South Africa, ever head of state there? And if not, then who was?

Edit from comment: I'm trying to distinguish who the last monarch to rule Southwest Africa was, as if it's not Elizabeth it would then be Wilhelm II.


texts: What specific jobs did people have on the Manhattan Project?

texts: I know that thousands of people worked on the Manhattan project during World War 2 to create the atomic bomb, but I was wondering if anyone knew about specific jobs that people had. Obviously there were a lot of scientists, mathematics, and researchers on the job, but what specifically did they do? Were there any other jobs that people had that wouldn't be obvious?


texts: Is it true the British heavily downplayed their defeat in Cartagena?

texts:
According to the wikipedia article the British lost the siege of Cartagena despite having a numerical advantage of 7-8 to 1.
After the defeat King George II forbade anyone to talk about it in the British empire. Is this downplaying of history true? Why isn't it widely known?
Battle of Cartagena de Indias

After the news of defeat of the British Armada reached London all the medals were ordered to be removed from circulation, and king George II forbade to talk or write about the defeat.


texts: What was the need to call the Estates-General of 1789?

texts:
I read that in France at the time of the French revolution, the monarch did not have the power to impose taxes on his will alone. Rather he had to call a meeting of the Estates General which would then pass his proposal for new taxes. Is this correct ?

But the last meeting of the estates general was called in 1614. Does it mean that no tax laws were changed for almost 175 years! Were there any other reasons that compelled the Estates General meeting.


texts: What was the maximum percent of the Soviet territory that was under Nazi control?

texts: What was the percent of the Soviet territory that was under Nazi control at maximum extent?


texts: Were there Samurai equivalents in Korea or China?

texts: Considering that the Samurai class had its distant roots in Chinese political structure, did China or Korea have a similar warrior class?


texts: Was Smedley Butler right when he said 21,000 million/billionaires were created from World War I?

texts:
In his book entitled "War is a Racket" Smedley Butler argues that the profit of war is counted in bodies and money spent. He also wrote that 21,000 millionaires/billionaires were made from World War I. Is this true? If it is true, how did these people become so wealthy?

  "In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the
  conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made
  in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their
  huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war
  millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows."

-quote from an online PDF copy of the book "War is a Racket" by Smedley Butler


texts: What rectangular object would is this Boer War era officer carrying on his left hand side?

texts:
The screenshots are from 32:34. This scene portrays Lt Col Philip Robert Anstruther at the Battle of Bronkhorstspruit, played by Kerry Jordan.

I know this is a movie, but what rectangular object are my green arrows marking? If you watch the scene, you can see it swinging?


texts: How are historical nutrition data gathered?

texts:
In the book 'Sapiens', Yuval N. Harari mentions that after the Agricultural Revolution child mortality soared because of malnutrition. While I can see how eating only carbohydrate-based products leads to malnutrition, I'd be curious about how these data are gathered.
I've tried searching for a few scientific papers and they usually mention "quality data from that era that is available" without any references as to how was this quality data gathered.


texts: Which war games did Napoleon practice with his generals?

texts:
I have read that Napoleon actively used to play strategy games with his generals in order to understand how they act in a range of situations. The generals also learned the same thing about each other. This meant that in a battle situation without communication between the generals, they were able to assume how the other generals would react in the situations on the battlefield.

I would like to know which games this was. I know that Napoleon had a "deep love for chess", but I do not believe that this gives much such knowledge because the situation is so domain specific.


texts:
The most popular, religious and non-historical, reason why Jesus was crucified is to atone for humanity's sin. (If I search in google, most sites would show this theory).

What is the secular historical reason for Christ to be put to trial?

Several parties said that Jesus was crucified because of a series of different reasons. Such as:

people actually wanted him to be a king, by screaming Hosanna to him. That would change political structures at that time and hence motivate status quo to kill him.
He claimed to be God. So the religious leaders wanted to kill him for blasphemy, but Pilate, who saw this as a mere religious difference, do not find anything worthy of capital punishments and hence wanted to set Jesus free.
the religious leaders were jealous of his influence.
he punched and kicked things around in the temple. Would that be plausible?
Or maybe there are other reasons.


texts: Where can I find the official response to Austria from Serbia in the July Crisis?

texts: I am asking if it still exists, and if it does, if there is a photograph of the document and if this document is in a current museum exhibition. I am referring to the Serbian response to the "ultimatum" sent by Austria, which was redacted at to some point by Berchtold.


texts: How would prospective members join a medieval European guild?

texts:
On related lines,
 1) How would a young person (young man) have selected a master with whom to apprentice? How did the matching up process work?

2) What motivated a master/practitioner to take on an apprentice?

3) I realize that people usually lived and died quite close to home, but how would someone go about joining a guild or taking up a trade in a new city/place if they did move?


texts: How did the roots of European knightly culture transfer from ancient Iran to European Middle Ages?

texts:
I have come across a reference in a German guide book on Iran that suggests the roots of knightly culture in European Middle Ages may be found in the Sassanian Empire (224 to 651 AD; translation courtesy of Google Translate with one correction):

  One element of the Sassanian Empire found its way into Europe through
  Mauritania centuries later: knightly culture. The Sassanids already
  maintained [courtly love], tournaments and a code of honor - everything that
  was also part of knighthood according to European understanding.

Assuming that this is an accepted view among historians, how did the transfer occur (in more detail) and which historian (or school of historians) first pointed out this link? Presumably some traces must also exist in Muslim culture for it must have served as "vector" via Mauritania and presumably Spain, so what would such evidence be?


texts: How did member states of the Holy Roman Empire justify only including part of their land inside it?

texts:
Looking at this map, we see that the Habsburg monarchy extends partly inside the Holy Roman Empire, and partly outside of it. Similarly, a tiny sliver of Denmark-Norway, and a similar tiny slice of Sweden, are within Imperial borders (though I don't think either Denmark or Sweden were member states of the HRE at all!).

How did this happen, and why was it allowed? Were these states "partial" members in some way?


texts: What led to the romantic perception of the Mayan civilization?

texts:
When the territories of the Mayan civilization were conquered in Mesoamerica, the European priests burnt all the books and references they could find about the Mayan culture.

It was not until 1839 that American traveller John Lloyd Stephens rediscovered their civilization and made it popular with his best selling book.

His work — or was it his fascination? — seems to have originally made people think the Mayans were a very peaceful, cultured and civilized people.

Prehispanic archeology professor Paul Gendrop even said about them (translated from French by yours truly):

  Who never heard, for instance, of an ancient Mayan empire, true golden
  age during which hard-working and eminently peaceful people, in the
  calmness of cities protected by dense forests, merely devoted
  themselves to contemplating stars?

So what led to this rather romantic (yet wrong, as seen in this question) idea of who the Mayan people actually were?

Was it the remarkable artistic, cultural or archeological findings?
Was it the myth and mysteries that a fallen civilization still had to unfold? (like e. g. Atlantis)
Was it Stephen's book who romanticized the Mayan people and made this poetic vision widespread?
Was it the era? After all, the XIXth century was marked by Romanticism and the idea may have been similar to the one explorers had of Ancient Egypt?
Was it a mix of all of the above or something I might be missing?


texts: Is this medieval picture of hanging 5 royals showing an historical event?

texts:
I was reading up on medieval hanging and came across this picture. It shows five royals (kings? princes?) being hanged from trees, but the articles I read don't mention any royal hangings.

I had a look online and found the same picture on two other sites but they also don't say anything about it. Other medieval pictures of hangings just show ordinary folk mostly.

Is this picture showing an historical event? Maybe knowing where the picture comes from originally would help.

This is from History.co.uk. it is also on About History and Our Ancient History


texts:
It is known that Napoleon has given constitutions to a set of countries.
The constitutions were written in the style of the French one.

How many of those napoleonic constitutions have played a role in serfdom abolition?

I know that serfdom has been cancelled at least in Duchy if Warsaw and Westphalia, but surely there are more to it. On the other hand, some places could have already gotten rid of serfdom in advance. And some could restore it right after Napoleon's fall.


texts: How accessible was the port of Archangelsk from the east?

texts:
During World War II, something like one half of Lend Lease supplies reached Russia via Vladivostok and the Trans Siberian railroad (what I call the eastern route); one quarter to south Russia from the Persian Gulf, (the southern route); and one quarter through Archangelsk from Britain, (the western route).

The last was the shortest route, but the most dangerous because convoys had to pass German-controlled Norway through a short time window. Specifically, Archangelsk was ice bound several months a year. Also, convoys could not run mid-year because the days were too long, giving free reign to German bombers and submarines.

Was it possible to avoid some of these problems by approaching Archangelsk from the east, that is, from Alaska instead of Scotland? Or was it a matter that if the "eastern" route was used, it was easier to ship goods by train from Vladivostok than over the White Sea in the north? (Note: Under their non-aggression pact with Japan, the Soviets were allowed to import food and raw materials, but not arms through Vladivostok.)

Archangelsk : A city in the north of European Russia


texts: Can anyone help identify this painting? (Western, representative, c19-c21)

texts: This is the cover of a Penguin classic - the Love Letters of Keats. But I can't find the painting identified anywhere. Does anyone know it?


texts: Are there any images of the USS Enterprise at night?

texts:
As the title says, are there any images of the (CV-6) USS Enterprise at night?
To specify I'm looking for the 1942 (or similar built version).

I'm especially interested in the runway lights, but in general  how the carrier looked at night.


texts: This is a roman coin, I'm not sure of the date and who is on the front.


texts: Was Martin Luther King's leadership conference Southern Christian or Southern Baptist?

texts:
Most sources refer to the civil rights organization Martin Luther King led as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), but some refer to it as the Southern Baptist Leadership Conference (SBLC).

  Mr. Wyatt, a member of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Greater New York, a chief sponsor of the observances, urged citizens to take a day off from work “in memory of this great man,” or to forward a day's pay to the Southern Baptist Leadership Conference in Atlanta. New York Times Jan 12, 1972.

and in an advertisement offering a poster from The Poor People's Campaign,

  The iconic poster for the Poor People's Campaign. A photo of MLK holding this poster was distributed to newspapers in 1968 with the caption "Civil Rights Leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Leadership Conference (SCLC), displays the poster to be used during his Poor People's Campaign this spring and summer, March 4, 1968..." Poor People's Campaign poster

What was the history behind there being two names? Ralph Abernathy, with whom King founded the group, was, like King, a Baptist minister, so it might make sense that "SBLC" was the original name, but changed later to be more inclusive?


texts: What did Zhang Zuolin say after his train blew up?

texts:
Zhang Zuolin was an early 20th century Chinese warlord of Manchuria. He was fatally wounded by the Japanese Army on June 4, 1928, using a bomb laid beneath tracks where his armoured train travelled over.
There is a colourful description of his last words soon after the explosion:

Although the Grand Marshal [Zhang] was heavily injured, he was conscious, and asked who did it. His subordinates answered: "the Japanese!"
Zhang Zuolin only said the word "fight [them]!" and passed out, never to awaken...
大元帅虽然身负重伤，但神志很清醒，问谁干的。部下回答：是日本人！
张作霖只说了一个“打”字，就昏死过去，再也没有醒来……。

This account is repeated in many places, including books like this: 抗日战争的细节.
My concern is with the laconic last word "fight". Although it fits his persona as an uncultured military despot, it conveniently paints him as a patriot. So I tried to dig up whether he actually said this, where this account came from, and if not, what really happened.

I found this secondary source for the account. Secondary, because it references what looks like an old magazine 《旧闻新读》, with OCR errors too (l3本人 instead of 日本人, presumably). I don't know how to find that magazine, or whether it's reliable.
But I was able to find an alternate account. Apparently his subordinate, an officer (校尉处长) by the name of Wen Shoushan (温守善) was present. According to the book 太陽旗下的罪惡: 不為人知的日本遠東戰爭罪行, which references 我所知道的张作霖 page 212:

When Zhang Zuolin was carried onto the car, he seemed to be in great pain, and although incoherent, could still speak. He first asked, "did we catch them?" Wen Shoushan lied, "we caught them." Zhang asked, "who [sent them]?" Wen Shoushan answered, "we're still questioning." Zhang said, "I want to go home and see [my fifth son]." He continued, "I'll take a piss, after I'm done pissing I'll go!" At the time everyone thought that Zhang was heavily concussed, and was saying nonsense."

The accounts further differ. Instead of dying on the scene, this book references another source, 究竟是谁杀死了张作霖, another magazine article published in Culture Journal (文化学刊), which continues as he's been taken back to his residence:

When Zhang Zuolin was on his last breath, his last words were, "I'm too injured, lost both legs, I won't make it! Tell [my sixth son (Zhang Xueliang)] to put country first, and do his best! This old bag doesn't matter, tell [my sixth son] to hurry back to Fengtian (Shenyang)."

But that's not all; I've found a third article, which unfortunately doesn't name sources, but combines a little from both accounts; he did say "fight", among his other ramblings, which puts the meaning of "fight" into question.
Out of all these overlapping, conflicting accounts, what did Zhang Zuolin actually say? What were the original sources? If it was primarily recollections from Wen Shoushan, did he give conflicting accounts due to faulty recollection?


texts:
On June 17, 1972, four months before the Presidential election, five men were caught breaking into  Democratic National Committee's offices in the Watergate office building, in Washington D.C.  They were Howard Hunt (former CIA officer), G Gordon Liddy (former FBI agent), and 3 Cuban Nationals who had participated in the Bay of Pigs.  It was their fourth attempt at penetrating this office.  They were caught in the act of planting two listening devices in Lawrence O'Brien office, the chairman of the DNC.

Were they conducting a fishing expedition? Collecting idle conversations, hoping something actionable would fall into their laps? Were they after something more specific?  Something only Lawerence Obrien would be discussing?

H. R. Haldeman Nixon's Chief of staff who served 18 months in prison said in a speech at Hofstra University 1987:

  “To this day I still don’t know why that was done, and I don’t know anybody who does. Why they would hit the (Democratic) National Headquarters is beyond me, because nobody in that place knows anything anyway.”

Over the years that has been pretty much the standard answer given by senior Nixon administration officials.

The minutes from the Watergate Hearings before Congress conducted between Feb 7, 1973 to Jun 27, 1974 were inconclusive on what the Watergate burglars were after focusing instead on the illegality of the various breakins and illegal actions conducted by Nixon's Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP) as well as who were involved.

The Watergate investigation eventually mushroomed into the broader illegal activities of the Nixon Campaign.  It lead to the guilty pleas or convictions of 55 individuals and 20 corporations as well as the resignation of the sitting President Richard Nixon.  On Oct 1975 as the 3rd and final Watergate special prosecutor Henry Ruth was leaving office; he stated his investigation had failed to uncover the motivations behind the Watergate break-in which had started and given the name for the entire wave of prosecutions.

It's now forty years since the investigation concluded, my question:

  Do we know what the Watergate burglars were after?


texts:
Under the metric system (and later SI), units of weight can be related to each other based on multiples of ten (e.g. 1 metric tonne = 1,000 kg = 1,000 × 1,000 g). Likewise with length (e.g. 1 kilometre = 1,000m = 1,000 × 100cm).

The French Revolution introduced these decimal based units of weight and length. It also introduced decimal time, dividing the day into ten hours, each hour into 100 decimal minutes, and each minute into 100 decimal seconds. But while the decimal units of weight and length proved successful and are now used almost everywhere around the world, decimal time is not. Why did decimal time fail?

Some Wikipedia references: Metric System History, Decimal time.


texts: Which countries protested against the Anschluss?

texts: In the military history museum in Vienna, one of commentaries said only a few countries protested against Nazi Germany's 1938 annexation of Austria, which the German propaganda apparatus called the Anschluss. Protesting countries included China, Mexico and a few other countries I cannot remember. I tried to google this and found nothing about the Chinese protest and sources claiming Mexico was the only country which protested. Does anyone has a source verifying this?


texts: What was the ethnic makeup of Lenin's bodyguards during the assassination attempt?

texts:
There were detachments of foreign soldiers fighting for the Bolshevik cause during the Russian Civil War, most notably, Chinese. Apparently Chinese troops served as the personal bodyguards for the Bolshevik leadership, staffed the horrific CheKa prison system, and were always, or almost always, used for executions. The Bolsheviks claimed the Chinese were favored for these roles due to their "efficiency" and because very few spoke Russian, making them impervious to "outside influences" (for example, I imagine, the outside influence of someone pleading for their life).

There are questions about whether the assassination attempt on Lenin in August, 1918, as he left a factory after addressing workers there, actually occurred. I've seen British accounts at the time of the incident that claimed it was a hoax, which was used to trigger the Red Terror.

On the one hand, Lenin did die six years later after a series of strokes that were claimed to be a result of the attempt's near miss. On the other, the alleged perp, a 28-year-old woman named Fanny Kaplan, was immediately executed out of public view (seemingly unlike standard CheKa procedure), and the reprisals--a wave of mass, indiscriminate executions that rolled over the entire country--did indeed signal the start of the Red Terror.

My question is to the ethnic make-up of Lenin's bodyguard contingent that day. If they were non-Russian-speaking ethnic Chinese, wouldn't that support the hoax hypothesis by making a hoax easier to pull off?


texts: 1901 Boxer Protocol settlement to Norway

texts:
The Boxer Protocol was the settlement made in 1901 after the Boxer Rebellion in China. The victors, consisting of eight major Western powers, got large indemnities from the Chinese government, as well as other concessions.

According to the Wikipedia article on the protocol, however, Norway got 0.025% (or maybe 0.0025%, the article is unclear) of the indemnity. The article does not say why, or whether the debt was waived by Norway later. So my questions are:

Why was Norway included in the settlement?
Was the money eventually paid in full? If not, why not?

Note: Norway shared a King and foreign policy with Sweden until 1905. It had independence in most domestic affairs, but this looks a lot like foreign affairs and hence it might be that the Norwegian part followed from some Swedish involvement. My question still stands, though.


texts: Former French PM Blum was in Buchenwald -- what is known about his life there?

texts:
To me it is interesting that he received special treatment rather than immediate execution. He was considered extremely valuable perhaps as a hostage. Wondering any details about how and why he was treated differently than most other inmates there.

Wikipedia article mentioning special section  Mind-boggling that such a man was not exempt from Nazi imprisonment; on the other hand, in his own land he was dragged from his automobile and almost beaten to death, saved by members of the proletariat who were fortunately nearby. (ibid)


texts: Can anyone verify this story about the President's driver?

texts:
I remember hearing a story that I believe was either President Roosevelt or President Truman which involved his driver. There was a crash or incident because of his driver's error or negligence. After the crash the driver was so repentant that he was not fired and continued as his personal driver.

It's also possible that this was a pilot/plane instead of a driver/car.

Can anyone verify whether this is a factual story and point me to where I could find the details if true?


texts: Was the U.S. planning an invasion of Afghanistan before 9/11?

texts:
Some sources seem to indicate that the U.S. was planning a military attack against Afghanistan before September 11.

Niaz Naik, a former Pakistani Foreign Secretary, was told by senior American officials in mid-July that military action against Afghanistan would go ahead by the middle of October.

Armey, George. (2001, September 18). US 'planned attack on Taleban'. BBC.

The day before the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration agreed on a plan to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan by force if it refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, according to a report by a bipartisan commission of inquiry.

Borger, Julian. (2004, March 24). Bush team 'agreed plan to attack the Taliban the day before September 11'. The Guardian.

in August 2001. Central Asian affairs representative Christina Rocca and a coterie of State Department officials voiced disgust and issued a threat to the Taliban ambassador: "Accept our offer of a carpet of gold, or we bury you under a carpet of bombs." Bush promptly informed Pakistan and India that the US would launch a military mission against Afghanistan before the end of October.

Chin, Larry. (2002, March 10). Players on a rigged grand chessboard: Bridas, Unocal and the Afghanistan pipeline. Online Journal.

However, when I skim Richard A. Clarke's accounts, it seems like the Bush administration was focused on Iraq and was disinterested in Afghanistan.
It seems clear enough that the U.S. was planning an invasion of Iraq before 9/11:

Borger. (2004). Bush decided to remove Saddam 'on day one'. The Guardian.
Behan, Richard W. (2008/2016). The Fraudulent War. (adapted to HTML at CounterPunch)
Stein & Dickenson. (2006). Lie by Lie: A Timeline of How We Got Into Iraq. Mother Jones.
Behan. (2008). The Story Behind George Bush’s Lies. Counterpunch.

Questions

What was the status of preparations and approval of U.S. military action against Afghanistan (if any) before 9/11?
Was the U.S. only considering sporadic bombing in Afghanistan, or were an invasion or regime change efforts being considered?
At what level were these plans approved?
Was a particular timeline in place for implementation as Naik claims?


texts: If the Allies had invaded Japan in 1945, would they have been fighting the "weakest" Japanese troops?

texts:
Sources such as Basil Collier's "The Second World War: A Military History" list the Japanese forces during the war as being 6 million. My understanding is that the background of these troops is roughly as follows:

Of these 6 million troops, 2 million started the war (1937-41) in China, where they became veterans fighting the Chinese.

After Pearl Harbor, these experienced troops were mostly shipped out to conquer the ASEAN countries (Burma, Philippines, East Indies, etc.), or to defend the Pacific Islands (Saipan, Rabaul, Tarawa, Iwo Jima) against American attack.

Two million formerly "garrison" troops left Japan for China in 1942-43, where they acquired "some" experience in the later stages of the war. These were replaced by a new batch of "garrison" troops with little or no experience.

Is it true that the Allies had "already" fought the most experienced Japanese soldiers on their way across the Pacific, and in the ASEAN countries, and would have been fighting relative "greenhorns" in Japan? Just as they fought Japan's best pilots early in the war and "Kamikaze" caliber fliers in the end?