texts: What prevented the Indian Army to wrest Kashmir from Pakistan despite the UN Security Council's resolutions of 1948-49?

texts:
In August 1947, when the British partitioned their Indian colony into two countries of India and Pakistan, the state of Kashmir was being ruled by a Hari Singh one of whose ancestor, named Gulab Singh, had been vested with the state by the British by virtue of the Amritsar Treaty of 1846.

At the time of Partition the ruler of Kashmir signed a status quo agreement with Pakistan, but Pakistan a couple of months later pushed in military-backed armed insurgents into the state, in reaction to which the ruler of Kashmir signed an accession treaty with India, upon which the Indian army was air-dropped in Srinagar in October 1947.

In the ensuing war, the Indian army did manage to wrest about three quarters of Kashmir from the Pakistanis. Then in 1948 the Government of India took the dispute to the UNO, pleading that Pakistan had tresspassed on a territory which belonged to India because of the accession treaty, something which had been provided for in the charter of independence of 3 June 1947 which had been agreed upon by both the Muslim League and the Congress.

The UN managed to persuade the two countries to do a ceasefire and sort of vindicated the stance of both the countries by calling for the Pakistani troops to withdraw from the entire state of Kashmir and allowing India to keep only as many troops as were necessary to maintain law and order in the state so as to hold a plebscite under the supervision of the UN.

Although Pakistan and India both agreed to the UN resolutions, the former never actually expressed its willingness to withdraw its troops from the part of Kashmir it retained when the matter went to the UN, whereas the latter after a while outrightly rejected any third-party mediation.

The Pakistani version of events is that the Pakistani tribals went into Kashmir to rid the local Muslim population of the tyranny of the forces of the Hindu ruler of the state and the Indian forces and by dint of their sheer zeal and spirit pushed back the agressors and "liberated" a portion of Kashmir until India, sensing defeat, took the matter to the UNO only to gain time and so kept on putting off the execution of the directives of the international body by not cooperating with the body's emissaries.

Now my questions are as follows:

While the Indian army was managing to repulse the Pakistani fighters on its own, why did the Nehru government feel the need to seek the UNO's arbitration in the first place? Once it became clear that Pakistan wasn't going to pull out its troops from Kashmir, why is it that India didn't continue with the offensive to make Pakistan vacate Kashmir, given that the UNO had backed India's position in this regard anyway? Even before Paksitan became a nuclear power, why was the Indian army unable to wrest Kashmir from the Pakistani army although the former is several times larger in numbers and weaponry? Why didn't India force Pakistan to surrender Kashmir in 1971 when the latter had tens of thousands of its troops in the former's custody after the fall of Dhaka?

If India was able to withstand the US or Chinese pressure when it took Pakistan on in East Pakistan, then surely it could have done likewise in the case of Kashmir also.

So is it because of the Pakistani army's sheer fighting spirit that the Indian army has been forced to be on the defensive in Kashmir, despite the fact that India is in a dominant position in the Siachin heights too?


texts: What is the use of vinegar as a component in ancient ink receipes?

texts: Quite some receipes of old (pre-iron-gall) ink seem to include vinegar. It is of pale colour though, and it may or may not be corrosive to the paper. Whats it's use?


texts:
I came across this Tweet recently which lists many

  different words used in traditional dialects to refer to left-handed people[.]

It looks like a majority of the English terms listed there are all quite derogatory. There certainly exists (and/or existed) some sort of prejudice against left-handed people in many different cultures, eastern and western.

Where did prejudice against left-handed people originate from?


texts:
Another question from my family history research from this quote:
Carrie C. Edgett article: John French - a tailor, was living in Topsfield as early as March 1, 1664/5, when a daughter born there, first mentioned in town records on Dec 31, 1667, when land was laid out to John How, "next John ffrench bordering upon the Common", from that time until 1697 his name is found frequently. He was chosen surveyor of highways, or fences, or both, seven times, tythingman, three tiems, on jury at Ipswich, three times, grand juryman, three times, and commissioner on special errands to the "sheare Towne," twice. He built a one story house about 1675, which before 1798 was raised to two stories and enlarged. This is still standing, and is known as the "French-Andrews" house, located on Howlett St., near the Dry Bridge [Topsfield Hist. Coll., vol. 8. p. 22, vol. 6, p. 47]
What might a sheare town be? thanks.


texts: With what frequency was stoning applied in the Muslim world before the Ottoman empire?

texts:
The Wikipedia article Rajm says:

  At least a couple of sources (Sadakat Kadri, Max Rodenbeck) have noted that while popular in the abstract, rajm has been infrequently applied in Islamic history. Stonings were recorded just once in all the history of Ottoman Empire, and not at all in Syria during Muslim rule;

The doesn't have any info about the application of stoning during the Rashidun Caliphate, Ummayad Caliphate and the Abbasid Calophate. How many times was it applied in that period of time?


texts: How to find out where a particular SS soldier was interned?

texts: Is it at all possible to find out where a particular SS soldier was interned and what happened to him please?


texts: What happened to all the scholars and scientists of Western Rome during the barbarian invasions?

texts:
We know that the dawn of the age of Renaissance and the dusk of the Middle Ages were accelerated by the fall of Byzantine Empire and the transfer of a big chunk of "Ancient Knowledge" from Greece to Italy, since many scholars fled from the Arabs/Turks there.

But what about the "Ancient Knowledge" in the Western half of the Roman Empire? I am aware of the fact that Western Roman Empire fell around 450, while Eastern Roman Empire fell around 1450. But what happened to all the scholars and scientists of Western Rome during the barbarian invasions? Did they left for another part of Europe? As we know, dark times followed upon Italy since the fall of Rome until the Renaissance when it comes to science.


texts: Where did the French National Constituent Assembly meet on August 4, 1789?

texts:
Where did the National Constituent Assembly decide to abolish feudalism?

I read that the National Constituent Assembly did not meet in a specific place. Therefore I want to know where they met in the night of August 4, 1789 when the decision to abolish feudalism was made.


texts: Which Soviet leader has said "there is censorship in the West too - it's called money"!

texts:
I vaguely remember hearing a quote from soviet leader (might be Gorbachev, could be someone else), acknowledging media censorship in the Eastern bloc but arguing there is censorship in the West as well, in the form of money (as in ownership of mass media by the ruling class). This was probably late 1980s, which is why I'm assuming Gorbachev, but I can't find any reference to this. More vaguely I would remember this happening in some discussion between US and USSR leaders.
I would be happy to know if my memory serves me right, ie if such statement was ever given officially or unofficially, and in what circumstance?


texts: Are there famous battles that took place on ice?

texts:
As my favorite ice hockey team became the champion of Poland today, I was reminded of the famous Battle of the Ice that took place in 1242. During the fights, forces of Alexander Nevsky managed to draw Teutonic Knights to the frozen Lake Peipus, where they started to slip and, in consequence, many of them drowned under the ice.

Were there any other battles in history in which ice took such an important role?

I don't mean the usual influence of winter conditions like during Napoleon's campaign or the Eastern Front during World War II, but the particular case of a battle taking place on a frozen river, lake or sea.

Both land and naval battles count.


texts: Did the University of California and University of Geneva award honorary degrees to Inazo Nitobe?

texts:
According to Inazo Nitobe (author of "Bushido: The Soul of Japan") timelines written in Japanese, he was awarded honorary degrees from "University of California" (Kariforunia Daigaku, カリフォルニア大学) in March of 1933, and from the University of Geneva (Jeneba Daigaku, ジェネヴァ大学 or セネヴァ大学), but I cannot find any mention of these by Google searching in Japanese, English, or French. It's clear that he was awarded honorary degrees from John Hopkins, Brown, and Haverford, but I can't find evidence for the UC and Geneva ones.

At that time, did the collective University of California give out honorary degrees as one entity, rather than each individual schools giving them out?  If not, which one did Nitobe get it from?

When did Geneva award one to him?

What degrees did he get from UC and Geneva?  For example, doctorates in law, sociology, or...?


texts: Why is the English name of the country "Russia" not spelled "Rossia" (with the letter o)?

texts:
Russkoje tsarstvo later changed to Rossiyskoye tsarstvo.

Why is the English name of the country "Russia" not spelled "Rossia"?


texts: Are there ancient Greek historians who wrote about Mycenae?

texts:
I´m interested in Mycenae but have no background in archaeology, so my question is: Did ancient writers like Thucydides, Herodotus, etc. write about Minoan and/or Mycenaean times as well? If not, are there other ancient written pieces about that time? (besides the Linear-B pieces)

I also think that Homer did write about his past, but I´m not sure how much of it is considered to be a "historical core" and how much is literature. Any notes on that would be helpful too.


texts: Where can I find information about women who worked in French military brothels in WW1?

texts: Although I have found memoirs from serving men who used brothels, I cannot find equivalent first hand accounts from the women.


texts: What was the original cause of the Camel War in Islamic history?

texts:
There are different interpretations about the Camel War. Who started this war and why? Which side of the war was the aggressor?

The leaders of both sides were from the companions of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH).


texts: Which immigrants became elected officials in an acquired language?

texts: With some exceptions, candidates up for election are usually natural born citizens that are native speakers of the government's language. With the exception of the first generation of leaders in Israel, when revived Hebrew was almost nobody's mother tongue, have any immigrants learned a local language as an adult well enough to be elected to a governmental office using that language?


texts:
I recently read an article in a Finnish newspaper about the persecution of Finnish people in Soviet Union during 1930's.

According to the article (here in Finnish), most of the victims were either Finnish socialists that had fled Finland, Finns that had moved over from America (in hopes of better living standards), or unemployed people from Finland who went to Soviet Union in search of employment.

So some of these people had moved to Soviet Union because they wanted to help in building the socialist utopia. However just as many other immigrants and minorities, most of them were persecuted due to Soviet government paranoia about possible spies and traitors.

One of the individuals interviewed by the article author was Irma Wahlstén who was a young girl when NKVD separated her from her mom and sister in January 1938. An experience that she mentioned was that of her teacher hitting her in the head with a plate because she had refused to thank Stalin for the food.

Presumably this was not a situation where Stalin was personally present.

The question I would like to ask is:

Were children in Soviet Union commonly expected to thank Stalin for food, even when he was not present?


texts: What branch of the military wore this uniform?

texts:
I found this pic in my grandmother's belongings after her passing. I'm curious as to what branch of the military this soldier was in and the time frame. Maybe even what war, if any he may have been in. By the emblem on paper frame the picture is in I'm assuming U.S. soldier. My maternal side of the family left Germany so I'm thinking this may be my grandfathers side of the family. The first pic is obviously of the soldier:

the second is of the front of the frame it's in:


texts: Can someone identify this coin? ΤΙΓΡΑΝΟ(Υ) (Β)ΑΣΙΛΕΩ(Σ)

texts:
Can someone please identify this coin? I would really appreciate it if you could tell me how old it is and what era it belongs to?
(https://i.stack.imgur.com/up4S3.jpg)


texts: Why are women's buttons on the opposite side from men's?

texts:
I was told many years ago that women's shirts had the buttons on the opposite side from men's so that mothers had an easier time buttoning their (male) children's shirts. However, I recently saw a video that claimed it was for women to imply that they had servants to dress them.

Are either of these explanations (or another) supported historically?


texts: What is the historical origin of the Jewish Sabbath?

texts:
The Jewish Sabbath is presented in the Old Testament:

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11.

I would like to know about the historical origins of this practice. Is the practice of having a weekly day of rest and devotion original to Judaism, or can its origins be traced back to a prior non-Jewish source?


texts: Did the American Founders Debate on the Relative Size of the Government?

texts:
It seems to me that the concern with the size of government, specifically that it's too large and therefore complex, is a relatively modern concern in American politics.  I would assume that given the lack of modern transportation and communication infrastructures the government was far more limited in the scope to which it could govern.  Furthermore, that same lack of infrastructure and the attendant lack of specialization in a pre-industrial economy rendered much of the present day functions of the government either unnecessary or of a much more diminished importance.

I am aware that there was a major debate among the founders of the United States over the balance of power between the state governments and the federal government (ie. the federalist / anti-federalist debates).  There was also much debate over the power given to a centralized authority and individual political leaders.  However, I am not aware of evidence of the founders being specifically concerned with the government ever becoming "too large" or "too complex".  Is there any evidence of the U.S. founders having this concern?


texts: What is the difference between Mughals and Afghanis?

texts: I was reading India history. There is a description that Babur battled with Ibraham Lodhi ,and finally he won. As per my knowledge Babur is basically Mughal, and his native was Afghanistan. Similarly, Behlol Lodhi was from Afghanisthan. Behlol lodhi son was Sikandher Lodhi, and Ibraham Lodhi was there son. Ibrahma Lodhi was very cruel. The Mughal and Ibrham Lodhi both were from Afghanisthan but one is called Mughal and other is called Afghani. I am a bit confused on it. Can someone please throw some light on it?


texts: What did ancient Romans use instead of shampoo?

texts: Urban Romans, we're told, took a bath every day. They did not use soap. Instead, they oiled themselves and scraped off the oil, along with the dirt, with strigils. What did they do about their hair, though? You can't use a strigil on your hair. Simply rinsing it in water would have resulted in plenty of dandruff and not much else: the hair would still be dirty and hanging in greasy strands. What did they use to get it clean?


texts:
Ulu or Ululation is the sound produced by throated "OOO' sound combined with moving the tongue rapidly sideways. This is done only by women (I think). Its done in Bengal (India), Morroco (Africa) and some other (African?) locations. In Bengal and Morocco its auspicious for marriage and devotion. Possibly Arabia as well?

What's the connection? How did it migrate from Africa to Bengal?


texts: How was the modern geographic boundary between Europe and Asia decided?

texts:
Wikipedia puts the boundary as:

  The modern definition of Europe delimits it from Asia at the Aegean Sea, the Dardanelles-Sea of Marmora-Bosporus, the Black Sea, along the watershed of the Greater Caucasus, the northwestern portion of the Caspian Sea and along the Ural River and Ural Mountains, as both mapped and listed in many atlases including that of the National Geographic Society and as described in the World Factbook.

However, there is no cite for this and I can't seem to find definitive information. What group, or individual, put forward this as the boundary between Europe and Asia? I know that this boundary has changed a lot historically so I'm curious as to the most current boundary, assuming Wikipedia is correct.


texts: During and right after the French Revolution, how did France maintain and operate such a big army all over Europe?

texts:
During revolutions or civil wars, countries usually suffer enormous economic losses along with much civil unrest. These things would seem to make it impossible for a nation to operate a huge army and go on major wars of conquest.

But France did that in the Napoleonic Wars, and conquered almost all the other European Empires. How? Did France somehow not suffer economically? Did France somehow recover very quickly in time for the Coalition Wars?


texts: Did the end of the British Raj in India create an economic loss for Britain?

texts: I know the economic downturn of the World War and the victory of the Labour Party played some role in Britain deciding to quit India. Did GB have any serious economic implications because of this? There were a lot of Britons employed in various sectors in India. Did the quitting cause large-scale unemployment and downturn of British economy? How was the common public's reaction to this?


texts: Need help in identifying this battleship--USS Nevada, Pennsylvannia or Arizona?


texts: Correspondence between the modern and the antique calendar

texts: How was the correspondence between Anno Domini and Anno Urbis Conditae eras made? How are modern historians proving that this correspondence is correct?


texts: I am looking for details that can confirm a story about a con-man during the installation of electrical poles and wires in Hungary

texts:
This story was told to my by my grandmother who is currently ~94years old.  That puts the story to have taken place around 1920-1930.

When she was little; living in Hungary, the country was in the process of installing electricity poles to deliver power to suburban houses.  A con-man came around to her house and the houses on each street and offered to take a bribe from the residents in the houses to try to "convince" his friend the official to install the poles on their side of the street instead of the other side of the street.  The effect would be that connection from their homes to the grid would be cheaper because of the shorter distance between the house and the poles.  After the poles were installed, he would come back to the houses which were on the wrong side of the street and give back the money, claiming he couldn't manage to bribe his friend.  he was never caught for it. (its not clear if she heard the story, was told it when she was a little girl, or lived it herself)

For all the searching I have done; I seem to find no trace of the story.  Perhaps breaking the story down to verifiable premises would help:

What year were electricity poles installed in Hungary (although this
story may have been told to her when she was little, I think she
said it happened when she was little)?
Are there any known conmen in Hungary at that time?
Has anyone heard of this story before?  Is there a record of anything like this?  (its not unreasonably possible to have happened as far as I can tell)
Are there searchable newspapers from that time that mention it?

I have spent an hour on google and half an hour on wikipedia trying to find relevant information before I posted the question.


texts: Where could I find a map of the communes for Bavaria region before 1930?

texts:
I am looking into data for an article and I am missing a pretty important map. The map relates to this question. I need a map of Bavaria communes, the so called Gemeinden divisions (~municipalities for Germany, English explanation), either to buy or freely available, raster or vector format, but it needs to be before 1930 period. I have spent around 5 hours already and all I could find related to the map I am looking is in the link to the other question. I mean I found other sites, and old books, but nothing concrete.

I would appreciate any pointers that you have.


texts: Which country in history has had the highest number of presidential assassinations?

texts:
Presidents, kings, emperors, prime ministers, etc.

I'd also be interested to know which country has had the most assassinations in, say, the last 200 years.


texts: What role did the United States government and major corporations have in controlling dissent and protest starting in the late 1940s?

texts:
After the Second World War, numerous movements of dissent and protest amongst workers or soldiers which had been kept in check by the profits of war developed into significant movements, such as the Coal or Rail strikes in 1946.  Similarly, the war-time consensus on the United States and "Russia" as allies broke down.  What studies of the personal experience of repression in this era—specifically the late 1940s—exist?  What cultural and social histories of the climate of immediate post-war repression exist?

What was it like to live outside of the newly forming post-war consensus in the late 1940s in the United States?

:

Image: Fitzpatrick, Daniel Robert, 1891-1969. 1947: ?St. Louis Post Dispatch


texts:
How was Munich captured in WWII and how much time did it take?
For example was it on a scale of three days?

This question is because in one of the war-time German films one character hypotizes that Munich can be captured in no more than three days.


texts: Does special perception of rhyme by humans indicate importance of poetry in prehistoric era?

texts:
Humans perceive poetry, rhyme and rhythm specifically, it produces some emotions and feelings that prose cannot do.

Does this indicate an evolutionary trait that evolved under extensive use of poetry in prehistoric times, before writing was invented, for keeping and transferring knowledge?

Since the poetry is easier to remember and allows natural error-correction due to rhyme and rhythm, it could be naturally used to keep knowledge in oral form for practical purposes. And special perception of poetry could be a huge evolutionary advantage of a population, that would allow them to keep more knowledge. This could last for hundreds of thousands of years.


texts: How did US anti-Irish sentiment decline?

texts:
Anti-Irish sentiment in the United States previously involved depictions of Irish migrants as non-human primates. While historians have debated the prevalence of contemporaneous "No Irish Need Apply" signs, such a sentiment was widely discussed, with Irish Americans referencing it after 1860. For the sake of this question, I take the decline in both of these phenomena as suggestive of a decline in US anti-Irish sentiment.

Sources such as Ignatiev 1995 argue Irish migrants to the United States were initially perceived as non-white, and that the subsequent classification of Irish Americans as white and the decline in anti-Irish sentiment was largely driven by Irish alignment with anti-black racism, beginning with support for the Democratic Party in the antebellum North. The idea that Irish Americans have only recently been considered white is often cited, at least by non-historians, as an example of how whiteness is a social construct.

However, Arnesen 2001 argues such analyses conflate race with economic status and ignore the legal rights provisioned to Irish immigrants c. 1830, and concludes a former classification of Irish people as not white is a product of historical revisionism.

Is a changing definition of whiteness part of the explanation for anti-Irish sentiment's decline in the US? Is anti-black racism among Irish Americans part of the explanation for said decline or such a change in definition? What other factors were integral to the decline in anti-Irish sentiment?


texts: What holidays would be on a European-centric calendar from the 11th - 13th Centuries?

texts: I've often come across readings that mentioned there were numerous holidays in calendars in use within the Christian Churches or Church controlled lands, with work stopping on worship days, feast days and so on.  While this opens a wide geographical area I am curious if there are any sources that note holidays within a typical year for a European-centric area (say current day France-Germany-Italy) between the 11th-13th Centuries.  What holidays were there and were these religious (feast or sanctified days) or were there celebrations for any other purpose (such as we have for memorial days within many current calendars).


texts: What is the exact date and year when the first car got invented?

texts: Cars. They have been around for over 100 years, I know that. But does anyone know the exact date and year that cars were invented? That is my question and I would like responses. Thank you.


texts: Was the Russian Black Sea fleet strong enough to help with land operations on the southern shore in World War I?

texts:
The Russian Black Sea Fleet was stronger than the Turkish Black Sea fleet for most of the 19th century. But the successful flight of two German ships to the Black Sea greatly strengthened the Turkish fleet in 1914.

Was the Russian Black Sea fleet strong enough to support Russian land operations on the Turkish shore in 1915 and later? If yes, did they do so and where? If no, was it because 1) it was too weak in "absolute" terms (e.g. compared to artillery on shore) or 2) too weak relative to the (reinforced) Turkish fleet?

This link suggests that the naval balance of power was a relatively "seesaw" affair, but is short on dates and details.It also doesn't say anything about how Russian naval power would have "stacked up" against shore based defenses.


texts: Does Siquieros' Echo of a Scream resemble a known news photo from the Second Sino-Japanese War?

texts: This is Echo of a Scream, a 1937 painting by Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros. According to the book History of Modern Art this painting was based on "an actual news photograph of a child in the aftermath of a bombing in the contemporaneous Sino-Japanese war". I can't find any further documentation of this. Does such a photo exist?


texts: What percentage of the British Empire's economy was profits from the opium trade?

texts:
Between 1820 and 1840 the British sold a lot of Opium in China. Compared with the total size of the British Empire's economy, how big was the Opium trade?

I have an old friend who maintains that even though the industrial revolution was in progress, that 50% of the British Empire Income in 1825 was from illegal Opium sales in Qing China. (He also maintains, no illegal drug dealing = no industrial revolution! Not part of the question though)

I find 50% that hard to believe, but I think it must have been significant. This source says:

  In the fifty-year period from 1842-1880 opium revenue on average was 15% of India‟s total revenue, which is significant for a single commodity.

I'm interested in the earlier period of Opium trade. I have poked around, but haven't seen any quantitative estimates of how big the Opium trade was relative to the total economy of British Empire.

Edit: By "total economy of the British Empire" I mean something similar to the GDP of all the economic activity in India, England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Gibraltar, Australia, Burma, Canada, Jamaica, etc. All the economic area under the crown, if you will.  In this chart it looks like in 1870 50% of the British economy was India, and 40% was UK. The correct answer will have as chart element like this for the whole British Empire in the 1820s, with a % for "opium"


texts: Wikipedia says that the consuls were initially the king's counsels judging from the name of the office. I wonder whether it is the fact and is there any reliable evidence for consuls under reges?


texts: Which "Wonders of the World" book does Malcolm X refer to in his autobiography?

texts:
In the Autobiography of Malcolm X, he references reading a book called "Wonders of the World". He lists no author or publisher. A Google search for "Wonders of the World book" brings up a large number of varying books. What book or set of books was Malcolm X referencing in his book?
Original excerpt from the Autobiography of Malcolm X:

I can remember accurately the very first set of books that really impressed me. I have since bought that set of books and I have it at home for my children to read as they grow up. It's called Wonders of the World. It's full of pictures of archeological finds, statues that depict, usually, non-European people.


texts:
One of the few things I remember from my high school physics class is my teacher telling me that Newton discovered things like the universal law of gravitation simply because his initial premise was correct. Newton assumed that "things moving in a straight line tend to keep moving unless compelled to stop". Everyone before Newton basically failed because their initial premise "things moving in a straight line tend to slow down and stop and unless compelled to keep moving" was wrong and this list of failures include Galileo. Gelileo made this mistake and hence history crowns Newton for this achievement instead of Galileo even though Galileo was so close.

But Thomas Pornin's answer here says that Galileo made the correct assumption. So my questions is, did Galileo make the correct assumption or the wrong assumption? If he made the correct assumption, then what stopped him from figuring out the law of universal gravitation? Why stopped him from getting crowned before Newton? It would be great if the answer can be backed by some sort of historical evidence/references.


texts: Was there any separation between hunting bow technology and weapon bows?

texts:
Was there a clear trend throughout early history (say, before 1300 for Europe) to have (or ot have) separate technologies/materials for bows and arrows for hunting purposes, and same-period same-culture bows and arrows for military purposes?

I'm explicitly excluding bow types that were specifically designed for armor penetration (14th century English longbow, crossbow etc...).

I'm OK with the answers being culture specific - e.g. I would naively expect Mongolian bows to be dual purposed. But a great answer would have more generalized analysis and overview. I am especially interested in cultures whose military opponents weren't heavily armoured.


texts: Why is Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf often refered to by his given name "Conrad"?

texts:
I am reading various books and material about the Great War, and in the vast majority of cases, important figures are always referred to by their family names. I.e. Clemenceau, Pointcarré, von Hindenburg, Ludendorff, von Mackensen, etc… Their given names could be added, but they're optional. Also you would never call anyone by their given name only. Nobody could talk about general "Paul" and understand you're talking about von Hindenburg.

What I don't understand is why the Austrian general, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf is an exception. I can't list where exactly, but I saw him being referred to as "Conrad" at many different places, when he should normally have been referenced to as "von Hötzendorf".

The only other cases of people being referenced by their given names would be outside the western world, such as the Ottoman Empire where family names didn't exist.


texts: How many people were sentenced to prison in 2011 in the United States?  This statistic is hard to come by online.  The only measured incarceration rate I've come across is the amount of people incarcerated per 100,000 people.


texts: Are there any written records of Norse mythology dated prior to Christianization?

texts: As I understand it, most of what we know about Norse mythology is based on texts written in sagas by Christians in the late Middle Ages.  Do we have any contemporary accounts of Norse mythology from the period in which it was still believed?


texts: Good historiography articles about Texas annexation?

texts: I'm having a hard time finding a good historiography article about the Texas annexation on JSTOR. Could you help me find one? I'm not sure what to search for. ("Good" means that it lists common disagreements between historians on the topic.)


texts: Why did the Queen of Hawai'i surrender, when two thirds of the registered voters were in favour of signing the new constitution in 1893?

texts: While drafting a new constitution, the Cabinet refused to sign it, even though two thirds of the native Hawaiians were supporting it. The fear of bloodshed made her surrender. When the Queen would have gathered the forces of the people and not give up her throne and let the Committee of Safety overthrow the monarchy, would the Kingdom have survived?


texts: Did the more experienced hoplites fight in the front or the back of the phalanx?

texts:
I have heard two conflicting ideas with regard to phalanx fighting formations, both from respectable history shows.

One source indicates that the more mature/experienced men fought at the front since to fight at the front of the phalanx was considered a great honour, while the younger chaps were positioned at the back.

The other show indicated that the more experienced men were at the back, forcing the younger men to stay in formation. Even if they wanted to rout they couldn't really retreat.

Perhaps both are true and refer to different city states or Macedonian techniques?


texts: Was the "drowning man prays to God, but ignores the boats God sends" joke/tale known in Ancient Roman times?

texts:
This is a rather famous joke/morality tale, with multiple version. The following one was taken from here:

  A storm descends on a small town, and the downpour soon turns into a flood. As the waters rise, the local preacher kneels in prayer on the church porch, surrounded by water. By and by, one of the townsfolk comes up the street in a canoe.

  "Better get in, Preacher. The waters are rising fast."

  "No," says the preacher. "I have faith in the Lord. He will save me."

  Still the waters rise. Now the preacher is up on the balcony, wringing his hands in supplication, when another guy zips up in a motorboat.

  "Come on, Preacher. We need to get you out of here. The levee's gonna break any minute."

  Once again, the preacher is unmoved. "I shall remain. The Lord will see me through."

  After a while the levee breaks, and the flood rushes over the church until only the steeple remains above water. The preacher is up there, clinging to the cross, when a helicopter descends out of the clouds, and a state trooper calls down to him through a megaphone.

  "Grab the ladder, Preacher. This is your last chance."

  Once again, the preacher insists the Lord will deliver him.

  And, predictably, he drowns.

  A pious man, the preacher goes to heaven. After a while he gets an interview with God, and he asks the Almighty, "Lord, I had unwavering faith in you. Why didn't you deliver me from that flood?"

  God shakes his head. "What did you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter."

This question is based on this comment by @Flater on a question on Movies.SE, which states that "this joke at least dates back to classical Roman times, though I can't currently recall which work [they] encountered it in".

Is this true? I'd love to know how the story was told back then, and whether it was even told as a Christian tale (no reason why it couldn't be modified for the Roman pantheon, I suppose).


texts: How did Genghis Khan's army feed so many horses?

texts:
The average horse eats 10-20 pounds per day, according to this pet website. Considering the fact that the horses may have to eat even more because of the hard traveling they had to endure, it's likely that food costs must have been incredible. Genghis Khan's army traveled an average of 14 miles (23 km) a day during the China campaigns, with some claiming they traveled 120 miles per day when 'charging
towards a target'.  In addition, each horseman kept 3-4 horses in tow.

What really mystifies me is that he managed to conquer the Khwarazmian empire with 80,000 to 100,000 mounted archers, even though it was situated in Eastern Iran, a dry and arid desert!


texts: Why was the the sack of cities acceptable?

texts:
When reading history, it seems that the sacking of cities (rape and/or killing of the inhabitants and pillaging) after a successful siege was a common and accepted practice...

Why was it acceptable?


texts: Is there a correlation between modern Middle East uprisings/wars and Ramadan?

texts: One cannot help but notice that the current shelling of Israel by Hamas has started in the month of Ramadan. So did the war of 1973 and a few other troubles. Is this just a coincidence, or is there indeed a correlation between the likelihood of trouble in the Middle East and Ramadan?


texts: How is Phi Beta Kappa and Skull and Bones historically connected to Sigma Pi Phi fraternity also known as the Boulé?

texts:
According to the history of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity also known as the Boulé the organization was founded in 1904 by Henry McKee Minton and five other men

  Sigma Pi Phi fraternity was formed in 1904 in Philadelphia,
  Pennsylvania by a group of six African American professional men. The
  fraternity founders included; Henry McKee Minton, Dr. Algernon B.
  Jackson, Dr. Edwin C. Howard, Dr. Richard J. Warrick, Robert J. Abele,
  and Eugene T. Hinson.

  The fraternity was established so that educated African American men,
  who were accomplished in their professions, could have a social,
  spiritual and communial gathering space. Within the group, members are
  referred to as arcons and wives as archousai.

  The group's second member Boule "Beta Boule" was formed in 1907 in
  Chicago followed by it's third member Boule in Baltimore in 1908. The
  organization gradually became nationwide and has included many
  prominent men including Martin Luther King, Jr. WEB Dubois, Arthur
  Ashe, Ron Brown, Earl Graves of Black Enterprise Magazine, and John
  Johnson of Ebony Magazine. Most prominent African Americans are
  members including college presidents, congressmen, cabinet members,
  and nationally prominent figures. The fraternity is currently
  comprised of 112 member Boules or chapters.

  The fraternity is often referred to as the Boule, which in fraternity
  parlance means "a council of noblemen".

  The meaning of the words Sigma Pi Phi, the titles given to its members
  and their wives, its officers and the names of its local units are
  derived from Greek history and tradition as well.

In History of Sigma Pi Phi: First of the Negro-American Greek-letter Fraternities by Charles H. Wesley at page 28 Wesley quotes Minton summarizing the goals of the creation of the organization:

  In summary, Minton wanted to create an organization which would
  partake, in his own words, of "the tenets of Skull and Bones at Yale
  and Phi Beta Kappa,"

What are the times, people, places, events and literature connecting between Phi Beta Kappa and Skull and Bones with Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity also known as the Boulé?


texts: How much did gunpowder cost per barrel in 1605 in London?

texts: I'm trying to work out how much the 32 barrels of gunpowder placed under the Houses of Parliament by the gunpowder plot conspirators cost at the time, then want to come up with an equivalent cost in modern money.


texts: Alexander, Olympias, and Zeus in Giulio Romano's painting

texts:
According to the myth, Alexander the Great was conceived through the sexual intercourse of Olympias and Zeus, as shown in the below painting by Giulio Romano.

But, who is the man whose face is showed in the top-right corner? And why did Giulio Romano paint the legs of Zeus as the body of a snake? What was it believed at that time (circa 1500) of this myth?


texts: What are early archeological clues of humans boiling food?

texts:
Over the course of my life I have seen several large, dangerous fires. Unfortunate animals often perish in these. Especially slower ones, such as turtles. Surely, it can not have been difficult for humans to invent cooking in the broad sense - that is heating food by fire - over the course of a few millennia.

Now, boiling food should be an entirely different question, a mental leap that I don't see as obvious at all, nor do I think it likely to occur by accident. So, what are some early archeological clues for humans doing it?

I realise, it might be difficult to find archeological evidence, but implements, such as pots, spoons or tripods for placing such on the fire are probably very old. One text that made me think archaeologists might know much more than I imagined, was Native American Cookery. Said article contains the passage:

  Boiling could be done in skin or bark utensils, or even on a clay bed, by filling with cold water, dropping in the meat and then heating with hot stones taken from a near-by fire. It was safer to boil in a bark dish than in a clay pot, because of the ease with which the pot was broken. One hot stone gives off a great deal of heat, and a dozen or so used in this manner soon finishes the task of hot-stone cooking.

If this applies generally, or many people used their kettles for pot roasting, we might have great difficulty finding these implements or establishing their use. Yet, shapes, materials or grease traces, might tell archaeologists much more than they would tell me.

Even if our estimates have to be very conservative, I am still interested.


texts: Did Belgian detectives wear special shoes in 1939?

texts:
In the comic book Land of Black Gold originally drawn in 1939 but finished or redrawn some time in 1948 by the Belgian author Hergé (Georges Remi), one of the bad guys can apparently detect from the soles that a person is a police officer of sorts. Here is an excerpt from the comic in question, with the relevant setting:

The location is an oil tanker on its way to a fictional middle eastern kingdom. The man in the first panel is the "bad guy", and the man searching the drawer is Thomson, a Belgian detective, a fact unknown to the bad guy.

Since this is featured in a comic book, my guess is that it would be common knowledge for a teenager in 1939, but definitely not to me. My question is then, what is it actually he reacts to here?

Did the police back then always wear a certain type of shoes, or is it that every sailor had to wear special shoes, and the shoes he sees are instead "normal" shoes?


texts: What was the "Brakteaten" medieval monetary system?

texts:
I am reading "Interest and inflation free money" by Margrit Kennedy. I have only found this book online (here). It is not in my local libraries or bookshops. The author states (page 39 of pdf):

“Between the 12th and the 15th century in Europe a money system was used called "Brakteaten." Issued by the respective towns, bishops and sovereigns, it not only helped the exchange of goods and services but also provided the means of collecting taxes. Every year the thin coins made from gold and silver were "recalled," one to three times re-minted and devalued on an average about 25 % in the process.
Since nobody wanted to keep this money, people instead invested in furniture, solidly built houses, artwork and anything else that promised to keep or increase its value. During that time, some of the most beautiful sacred and profane works of art and architecture came into existence. "For while monied wealth could not accumulate, real wealth was created."
We still think of this time as one of the cultural culmination points in European history. Craftsmen worked a five-day week, the "blue" Monday was introduced and the standard of living was high. In addition, there were hardly any feuds and wars between the various realms of power. (27)
However, people obviously disliked the money which lost so much at regular intervals. Finally, towards the end of the 15th century, the "eternal" penny was introduced and with it came interest and accumulation of wealth in the hands of increasingly fewer people, as well as the accompanying social and economic problems. The lesson here is that taxes should be levied separately and not connected with the circulation fee on money."

I am looking to read more about such monetary system, but I can get no meaningful hits. The book seems to have a reference to this system (reference 27), but as I do not have the book I cannot check which is. Wikipedia has little mention on this monetary system, similar to what it is in the book. Google Scholar has no relevant result in English (mainly in German).
Are you aware of any study on this monetary system? Could I get some references on this?


texts: Why did Tokugawa Ieyasu oppose Hideyoshi's plan for expansion?

texts: When Hideyoshi wanted to invade Korea, the Tokugawa clan noticeably stayed out of the conflict. What were the reasons for them doing so?


texts: What was the reaction of Western Communist Parties to Kruschev's 1956 speech denouncing Stalin?

texts: I am also curious about the reactions of left-leaning intellectuals (aka "fellow-travellers").


texts: Are there any texts/translations of the 4 main Egyptian creation myths?

texts:
According to wikipedia there are 4 main Egyptian Creation Myths. These appear to be:

Ogdoad creaton myth of Hermopolis
Creation myth of Atum from Heliopolis
Creation myth of Ptah from Memphis
Creation myth of Amun from Thebes

I am planning to answer a question over at the Biblical Hermeneutics Q&A site, and while I have a general overview of these myths I can't seem to find the name of a definitive, Canonical source for these myths. Does such a thing even exist? If not, why? Is this information collected over a number of references and stories or from artwork for example?

In contrast, the Babylonian creation myths sources seem to be very easy to locate and I am wondering why there is a disparity.


texts: Did Midway provide the strategic opportunity Japan sought?

texts:
We all know that the Battle of Midway was a disaster for the Japanese Empire, and a turning point of the Pacific War. Events did not turn out as the IJN had hoped. But  the result by no means was a foregone conclusion. The IJN had been a little bit overconfident, and a little bit unlucky. But they had achieved the primary set of circumstances they had been seeking: bringing all of the US' fleet carriers to a decisive engagement where the IJN had... well if not numerical superiority, at least numerical parity (larger number of ships, fewer planes; but more experienced pilots)

If the results had been reversed would Midway been strategically decisive for Japan? That is to say, had Japan lost 1 carrier and the US their 3 would this brought them to the point where they could have concluded the Pacific War in their favour?

Unlike Japan, the US could replace its loses... but this takes time, and effort. Moreover, without a fleet the Japanese forces would go largely unchecked for quite some time. Do any reputable historians argue that Midway provided an opportunity for the Japanese to "wipe out" the U.S. navy to a degree that would force it to make peace, providing the strategic opportunity that Japan sought? Or did it only ever provide the chance for a tactical achievement for the IJN?

Edit: Sorry folks coming here hoping to be able to provide answers to the question. Apparently the query: "Could the US have won the Pacific war without its original 3 carriers?" is subject only to speculation, and cannot be answered. /satire


texts: How many ministerial deferments were there during WWII for the United States?

texts: How many, or what percentage of eligible inductees were excused by way of a 2-D or 4-D during WWII?


texts: Were there in the USSR monasteries decorated with Soviet orders?

texts: Were there in the USSR monasteries decorated with Soviet decorations, particularly, the Order of the Red Banner?


texts: Who is "A Gentleman"? (The listed tranlator of the 1758 English edition of Tusculan Disputations)

texts:
While reading a free ebook version of Tusculan Disputations, apparently photo-captured from a long-out-of-copyright edition, and being interested in the unusual grammar in the older book, I "flipped" to the front of the book to check the name of the translator:

A quick internet search for "a new translation by a gentleman" appears to return Tusculan Disputations as its top result.  (And the other high results did not seem relevant.)

Was specifically attributing authorship or translation to "A Gentleman" an unusual thing in that period?

(It's difficult to know how to search for such an answer, since "A Gentleman" is a very generic phrase, and will largely return irrelevant results.)


texts:
What is the oldest archaeological source which mentions a name of a specific place?

Out of curiosity, what is that place name and what does the name mean?


texts: Did each clan in Sengoku Japan have a specialty or distinctive way of war?

texts:
I know that the regions of Iga and Koga bred soldiers that excelled at guerilla warfare, The Takeda cavalry, The Otomo and Oda for their guns.

Were there other daimyo who were known for the way they fought or the styles of army they fielded?


texts: What was the relatively most populous city in history?

texts:
Which city did, at a given time, have the largest percentage of humanity living in it?

I think that it's probably Imperial Rome, which is said to have reached a million inhabitants, at a time when the world's population must have been less than 1/40th of today (Tokyo today being nearly 40 times larger than Rome was then).

Or are there other candidates?


texts: Did the fortunes in the Hundred Years' War depend largely on the weather?

texts:
In the Hundred Years' War, the French had more numerous and heavily armed troops, while the English had fewer, more lightly armed (with longbows and less armor) troops that had the advantage of being more mobile.

I am struck by the fact that the most decisive English victories, Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt, which were won at heavy numerical odds, were all preceded by rainstorms that hampered the charges of the heavily armored French troops. Conversely, the French won most of the remaining battles, at least those where they had a numerical advantage.

To test my "weather" thesis, I am asking two questions.

1) Did the French ever win any land major battle (not sieges or skirmishes) of one full army against the other, in or immediately after, "bad" (rainy) weather?

2) Did the English ever win any major land battle against the numerical odds (one to two or worse) when the weather was "good" (non-rainy)?


texts: What was the Soviet response to accusations surrounding the Lin Biao incident?

texts:
According to the official Chinese narrative, Lin was planning to topple Mao with Soviet military help. When this failed, he tried to escape to the USSR.

Did the Soviets bother to respond to these accusations? What did they say?


texts: Has a British peer ever come to live in a typically lower class way?

texts:
Recognizing that social class in Britain does not correspond to wealth, that that peers have been gambling away fortunes since time immemorial, has a hereditary peer, a  duke, marquess, or earl, ever been described as living in a typically lower-class way?
Of course there is no absolute definition for this, but the social class distinctions are strong enough that if a duke really  were living in a council flat  and going on and off the dole, someone would write an article about it.
This article and this discuss social class. The focus is on the set of behaviors rather than amount or source of income. The class system has changed over time, but is still recognizable. We can take examples from any time period, historical or current.
Links to articles, or Google search terms, will be appreciated.
Searches like "impoverished baron" lead to (mostly fictional accounts of) people who lost their money but not their social class (upper-class behaviors). They are usually looking for a rich heiress to marry.
Do any impoverished peers really live in London and try to live off of £300, while maintaining the set of behaviors that defines the British upper class?  I am looking for a peer living (at any time period) like an average (lower class) commoner, as discussed for example in the above cited article, focusing on social behaviors rather than income or wealth.


texts: Differences between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the books of Moses

texts: On Wikipedia, I read that the texts from Exodus in the Dead Sea scrolls contain some differences from the canonical version. However, I couldn't find them online. Can someone give me a few examples?


texts: Where can I learn about mortality rates for 19th century American sailors?

texts:
I would especially like to know the difference in survival rate for whalers versus merchant sailors in New England.

It seems to me that Melville discussed this in Moby Dick (which of course need not be a statistically accurate source), but I do not find such a passage now.


texts: When did ancient kings, tribes etc. started to think about becoming an own part of history and act accordingly?

texts: This question is probably tricky to answer accurately. One possibility is probably to look when ancient people and societies started to be seriously interested in history of earlier tribes or started to develop myths and legends like Achilles of Troja. It's not far from making up history to be interested in history. Can you give examples when first a king/tribe started to act clearly (in noted argumentation, unreasonable expensive wars/buildings) in a way to push his historical fame in the future (this means not only for the next living generation, every father wants to impress his family and relatives) but for decades, centuries. When did ancient people start to get interested also not only in their recent history, but history happening centuries ago?


texts: Were Arctic communities aware how different daylight cycles were elsewhere?

texts:
At extreme latitudes, what we would think of as the typical day/night cycle becomes very different.

The sun remains continuously visible for one day during the summer solstice at the polar circle, for several weeks only 100 km (62 mi) closer to the pole, and for six months at the pole. At extreme latitudes, the midnight sun is usually referred to as polar day.
[I]n practice the midnight sun can be seen as much as 55 miles (90 km) outside the polar circle ... and the exact latitudes of the farthest reaches of midnight sun depend on topography and vary slightly year-to-year.

-- Wikipedia
Presumably, native communities in the Arctic felt this was a normal pattern of the seasons. Were they aware that other places had a different day/night cycle? This could perhaps be mentioned in their mythologies or tales of other places.
I ask about the Arctic because there were far more people living in the high Arctic than equivalent regions in the south. I'm mostly curious about North American societies, but an answer could discuss European/Siberian people as well.

I stumbled on this old question the other day and am offering a bounty because Pieter's answer only hypothesizes that they were smart enough to --- which, of course --- but doesn't offer any specific evidence specific groups traveled far enough to notice.


texts:
After my question What happened north of the Alps after the romans "left"?, I read through the sources given by the comments and answers. One paragraph in this post was especially interesting to me:

  West of the Enns there was also cultural continuity. Until the Middle Ages the Romance-speaking population retained Christianity, Roman legal concepts, and certain elements in music and painting. Salzburg and Passau are thought to have still had a Romance-speaking population in the eighth century, from which the composers of early charters were drawn. The fact that the name “Norici” was used in reference to the Bavarians indicates the survival of a substantial Romance population in that area.

Sadly I cannot find the sources to these claims. During my research I found this webpage (in German; seems to be down, available here) which claims that old Bavarian was not a Germanic language but a Romance one. This hypothesis is based on house and place names as well as modern "typical" Bavarian words being more easily explainable from a Latin root and it does seem to make sense, but it is still speculation. Respected linguists such as Prof. Rowley (who was contacted by the owner of the website and replied [p1, p2, p3]) argue that, while some words may come from Latin, most linguists agree that old Bavarian was a Germanic language. edit: because of a comment from DevSolar I read this text again and see that it is irrelevant to the question. I had posted it because it is interesting.

The Wikipedia page on old Bavarian (in German) describes how the language evolved without linking to specific sources. It also contains a list of texts which are presumably old Bavarian. This still does not convince me since there is no explanation as to why those documents are considered old Bavarian. I have not read the books that are linked in the sources and sadly I do not have the time to read so many books for the few pieces of information I am looking for.

I do not argue for or against the established opinion on this topic. I simply want to know the truth and do not trust any opinion without knowing the source myself.

For my question (see title) I would like primary sources (such as texts that explicitly talk about the language of the region at that time), preferably with an evaluation of those sources by respected linguists and historians on how the Latin (or Romance) language died out (or merged).
Especially I would like to be answer the following questions:

what are the sources for the claim that a Romance speaking population had survived into the 8th century (or perhaps even longer?)
when was the point at which one could talk about a population which spoke the same language?

I was not sure if this would fit better into the history or the linguistic stack, so please move it if you think it would be a better fit elsewhere.


texts: Did Germans and Soviets count casualties differently at the Battle of Kursk?

texts:
I've been reading a good bit on the Soviet-Axis war of World War 2 as of late. Something that continually strikes me is the large variation in casualties for any given operation or battle that occurred on the front, depending on who you ask.
Perhaps the most egregious difference is at the Battle of Kursk. FWIW, I am aware that German and Soviet scholars have disagreed on what actually comprised the Battle of Kursk: Soviet scholars believed both the large Soviet counterattacks and Operation Citadel were part of the Battle, whereas German sources have generally only considered the Axis offensive as the Battle of Kursk (or something to the effect).
However, even when steps are made to rectify this issue, it seems that sources still vary wildly. A simple google search brings up 'the WW2 DB', a source that states the casualty ratio was incredibly lopsided: 200,000 Germans vs. 860,000 Soviets, 500 German tanks vs. 1,500 Soviet tanks. But then there are also sources such as the 'Rise and Fall of the German Air Force: 1933-1945': ISBN 5-699-18349-3 or the Russian 'Book for Future Admirals', which both state around 300,000 irrecoverable Soviet losses vs. 280,000 irrecoverable German losses. I know the first source is counting wounded and sick as well, but it still does not explain how some sources are basically stating a 1:1 loss ratio, and others are going up to 4:1.
Does anyone know what the deal is here? Do Germans and Soviets count casualties, particularly for their armor and wounded, very differently? Is propaganda on either side a strong force for these numbers?


texts: When did Abu Bakr agree to lower taxes for the Arabs living under the rule of Byzantine and Sassanid Empire?

texts:
The Wikipedia entry about the Muslim conquest of Persia says:

First invasion of Mesopotamia (633)
After the Ridda Wars, a tribal chief of north eastern Arabia,
Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha, raided the Persian towns in Mesopotamia (what
is now Iraq). Abu Bakr was strong enough to attack the Persian Empire
in the north-east and the Byzantine Empire in the north-west. There
were three purposes for this conquest: 1. Along the borders between
Arabia and these two great empires were numerous Arab tribes leading a
nomadic life and forming a buffer-like state between the Persians and
Romans. Abu Bakr hoped that these tribes might accept Islam and help
their brethren in spreading it. 2. The Persian and Roman populations
suffered with very high taxation laws; Abu Bakr believed that they
might be persuaded to help the Muslims, who agreed to release them
from the excessive tributes.

When did this agreement take place? Did it happen before the battle or after the battle?


texts: "No sane man will dance."? When / where / about-what did Cicero say this?

texts:
I hate quotes out of context, even great lines like "No sane man will dance." -- which was allegedly uttered by Cicero.  But every time the quote is used, context is omitted.  Was Cicero really talking about dance in general, or was he remarking on one of the events of his day?

My Google-Fu turns up tens of thousands of uses of the bare quote, but with no context, or history whatsoever.
A book search turns up only 41 books, but none are likely historical accounts.
Google's Ngram Viewer shows NO historical use of this phrase (in English).
My Latin is terrible, I tried searching for words like "Hominus sanus non saltatus", but with no luck.

Did Cicero really say this?  It's looking more like an urban legend.

If he did say this, when/where/why -- what was the context?

Thanks for your time.


texts: Was there an official order on ships' cats per vessel?

texts:
In the funny, but still (I assume) historically accurate material about "The history of Ships Cats", the author states that "many navies had standing order for minimum acceptable number of cats per vessel" (for purpose of combating rodents and to improve morale of the crew).
Does anyone know example of such order? Also, somehow related - who would be responsible for taking care of those felines - would it be just a kitchen hand doing something in spare time or was it a prestigious position held by an officer?
Just to narrow this  a little, lets focus on time from mid 19 to the mid 20 century and the broadly understood Western navies.


texts:
Long back, in a children's magazine, I had read a trivia about a certain king, whose life had multiple associations with the number four. I cannot recollect what the associations were exactly, but some examples of how the associations were worded: he was the fourth emperor with his title, he was born and dead on the fourth of a month, he was one of four siblings, he had four children, etc.

I am unable to search for this trivia online. Can someone help me out?


texts: How were false US flags identified on slave ships in the transatlantic slave trade?

texts:
Background
In the transatlantic slave trade, it is known that captains of the slave ships used to fly false US flags. This was due to the USA not allowing the Royal Navy to search their ships.

"Knowing that many slavers would fly false US flags to avoid being boarded, some slavers were even registered in southern US states." [1]

I believe this was due to the USA not having an good relationship with the British at that time after the American revolutionary war. The slave trade continued until later in the 19th century with the American Civil war.
The British used what they called "squadrons" to patrol the coastlines of Africa in order to help end the transatlantic slave trade. This is known as the Blockade of Africa. Many other countries were involved in this including the US.
Question
How long were these ship captains able to fly false US flags before the US permitted the Royal Navy to search their ships? Was there a way found to somehow identify that a ship was flying a false flag?
References

Seizure of American Vessels- Slave Trade in Eltis, D. Abolition of the Slave Trade: Suppression


texts:
Luis Argüello was California's first Mexican governor. He died in 1830 and was buried next to San Francisco's Mission Dolores. His grave marker doesn't appear contemporary with his death, though. I don't think there were any stonemasons in California in 1830. There are no other markers from the same time in the cemetery, and while the headstone is engraved in the Spanish language, it contains several orthographical errors. All this suggests to me that it was engraved after California was taken over by the United States. The gravestone is credited to "J. Daniel, S.F." Its spire fell over in the 1906 earthquake, but stands upright today.

When was Argüello's monument built and who paid for it?


texts: Did the Great Wall of China help cause the fall of the Roman Empire?

texts:
I recently came across a saying that "Rome fell essentially because China built the Great Wall" (to protect itself against the Xiongnu people, if I remember correctly) in a lecture series on peoples from the steppes. There are claims that this was once a popular theory.

  A once-popular theory of history held that Rome fell because China built a wall. In other words, the construction of the Great Wall of China forced nomadic peoples outside the wall to turn their attention westward, eventually destroying the Roman Empire.

   Bradsher, Keith. "The Nation: Flame Throwers and Radio Transmitters; For Car Thieves, a Technological Arms Race." The New York Times 28 Mar. 1999

How much truth is there in this? If there is, what are the series of events that lead to the fall of Rome which were triggered by building of the Great Wall of China?


texts: How did the European and international left react to the Cafe War?

texts:
During Algerian decolonization, one episode was the Cafe War, when the mainstream Algerian independence group FLN and the communist MNA killed each other's members. This left several thousand dead in France alone.

In leftist (communist) texts, I've often found passing references to the FLN as being on basically the 'right' side (anti-colonialism), but no mention of the Cafe War. I understand that during the Algerian War of Independence, anti-imperialism was not yet the big deal among communists it became later. Still, I would expect communists and socialists to have an opinion on the whole affair.

Was the Cafe War widely discussed in the European and international left when it happened, and what were the major points in that discussion?


texts: What was the range of round shot on level ground?

texts:
I've seen estimates of the range of round shot fired from smoothbore cannons during various eras.

Is there a simple estimate how far a cannon ball would continue bouncing/rolling on dry, level ground following the initial impact?


texts: Plate armour worn by men-at-arms fighting on foot 1380-1415

texts:
I am interested in how much plate and what exactly plate elements have been worn by men-at-arms/soldiers at the turn of the 14th century in different parts of Europe.

I have established that a typical man at arms wore some kind of helmet, usually a kettle hat, and a form of hourglass gauntlets, usually with simplified/chainmail/no protection of the fingers.

Were there any other elements of plate worn by men at arms? I'm especially interested in any evidence of the usage of closed helms or some sort of face/throat protection worn by them. How about joint protection?

Any findings would be welcome, same for iconography, only in that case I would ask for the context and percise dating of the icon. Sometimes the iconography showed people in bizzare armour, so called "mock armour", to ridicule the depicted person.


texts:
I have been wondering for a while and have always wanted to know about Australia's immigration history, my main question being:

Why has Australia accepted many migrants from 1945 to the present time?
Why is this still the case?


texts: Antebellum White Collar Workplace Architecture and Design

texts:
Does anyone know what offices would have looked like in the U.S. roughly between 1830-1860?  In particular, did clerks and others work in a more open plan environment, or did people tend to have their own rooms in a building?  If the former, I'm curious about what divided work spaces, and, if the latter, what the doors would have looked like (would names of positions be on plaques, absent, or on signs...etc.).

(FYI: I know the term White Collar didn't come into play until later in the century but I couldn't think of a better word!)


texts: Have two generals ever agreed to fight one on one to avoid a battle?

texts: In fiction, there's a scene sometimes occur where 2 armies are facing each other in preparation for battle, but the leaders parlay and agree to fight one on one to determine the outcome with minimum bloodshed. Has this ever actually happened in history?


texts: What do we know about Hennig Brand's family? He is credited with the discovery of Phosphorus of course, but it appears he was married twice during his life. Did he have any children, and if so do we know their names?


texts: What factors enabled Europe to conquer almost the whole world?

texts:
As we probably all know, after ancient and medieval times European countries traveled to almost every part of the Globe. Today's heritage are, among many others, Roman law and alphabet, Gregorian Calendar, English as international language, European fashion (like eg. ties), habits (see eg. my other question), science (measurements like SI, meridian 0 going through London, Latin names in biology...), etc.

It seems that in ancient times Greeks/Romans were on the same civilized level as other cultures. Then, during Medieval, which is (wrong in my opinion) called dark ages, lots of minor wars occurred, which should have led to total European destruction.

This however did not weaken European community; moreover, common enemies (like Mongols, Ottomans) led to military breakthrough.

But this does not need to be true. China is the same latitude as southern Europe. They invented gunpowder. They made first sailings and first discoveries. They had common enemies (Mongol, Japanese), they shared the same faith. They had the same resources (iron) as Europeans.

In America today's New York lies on the same latitude as Rome. Why where there no civilization? Why Inca did not invent wheel? Just bad luck?

Of course these are rhetorical questions. The main is: are there any commonly acceptable factors that were advantageous for European civilization (even if totally dispersed to hundreds of feudal states), that allowed them to take over other civilizations and rule them for a while? Or maybe these were just some good luck for Europeans?

(I have read this question but this does not fulfill the topic. It is native American-centered, and ok, there were no good resources in America. However, I think the Chinese had everything that Europe needed to advance but they did not make use of it. India also was not too advanced).

I've met an opinion, that combination of Greek philosophy, Roman law, and Jewish (or Christian) theocracy (one God) made European civilization focus on particular humans. So units were able to move the civilization further, while Eastern civilizations (religions) focused on people as a whole, so every independent thoughts were suppressed. However, this might be too broad clarification.


texts: Has any U.S. Vice President cast a tie-breaking vote against their own administration?

texts:
The US Constitution says the Vice President of the United States may only vote in the Senate to break a tie.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 3

Vice Presidents have used that power to confirm appointments and vote in favor of bills that the President wants. The Vice President is the only officer of the U.S. government with both an executive and legislative role. As somebody who is elected along with the President, it would seem unthinkable for a Vice President to vote against his (maybe soon someday, her) own administration.
Has any Vice President voted against a bill or nomination favored by the President?
Some situations where this might have occurred was early in U.S. history when the Vice President and President were occasionally members of different parties or political rivals. Vice President Thomas Jefferson was a rival of and member of a different party than President Adams. The other occurrence was when John C. Calhoun was Vice President and John Quincy Adams was President. Both were members of the Democratic-Republican Party, but that was the sole major political party at the time, and each man was part of a different faction within that party.
Jefferson voted 3 times to break ties in the Senate and Calhoun voted 31 times. Did either of them vote against the administration? (At that time, the Vice President was not as integrated into the administration as it is now.)
There's also the possibility, albeit unlikely, that some Vice President voted against the administration despite being a member of the same party as the President.


texts: Examples of wars without power as a motive

texts:
I'm more of a social historian than military historian, but if I understand correctly war between two factions is almost always a struggle for power.

Is that the case? Are there examples of wars started for other reasons?

Edit:

There were some comments about the vagueness of the term power so I'm going to try to be more specific about it. By 'struggle for power', I mean:

a struggle for more energy, as in actual physical energy in some form

I understand that this sounds even more vague than the term power itself, but that's exactly the point of the question. I wonder if you can reduce human conflict to power conflict.


texts: Was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in 1914 captured on film?

texts:
I have a memory of reading about how Franz Ferdinand's assassination in 1914 was captured on film and watching it, but for the life of me I cannot find this and am beginning to think I fabricated it.

You can find video of the archduke's arrival on that day:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/video/ferdinand.htm

And video of the funeral procession shortly after:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/video/ferdinandfuneral.htm

And you can find photographs of moments before  the assassination:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Postcard_for_the_assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_in_Sarajevo.jpg

And photographs moments after:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Gavrilo_Princip_captured_in_Sarajevo_1914.jpg/1024px-Gavrilo_Princip_captured_in_Sarajevo_1914.jpg

But I swear in the last year or two I read an article that discussed and contained a short video that captured the actual moment... but I can't find it! It's driving me crazy.

This other question regarding the earliest assassination isn't strong evidence but leads me to think at least I'm not the only person that thinks this: What was the first assassination/murder recorded on film?

Can anyone point me in the right direction here and help me find either the video or a reference to it?


texts: What specific changes were made to political ideologies around during and before World War I?

texts:
I'm studying the influence of democracy and the United States' advocacy of it during the early 20th century, and the effect that the Allied Powers' victory in World War I had in the shifting of certain political ideologies towards a more democratic attitude.

Major ones that existed were militarism, nationalism, and imperialism, but these can't really be associated with an existing political framework, so I'm looking more for the evolution of modern socialism, liberalism, and conservatism. Don't hesitate to discuss more—all information is helpful.

How did World War I shape certain political beliefs to what we know them as today in terms of developing more democratic principles?


texts: Did China's life expectancy at birth rise 30.5 years from 1960 to 1980? If so, what were the particular changes made to their society's structure?

texts:
I have been reading The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World Economy by Minqi Li.  The author reads like a fan of Mao and is succeeding in convincing me I need to dig deeper in to the story of Mao's rise in China.  Li is a world-systems-analyst type thinker who constantly returns to data and comparative charts of China's progress in those years. On page 33 he states:

  Table 2.2 reports the levels and changes of life expectancy at birth in China and in and selected countries and country groups.  Between 1960 and 1980, China's life expectancy at birth rose by 30.5 years. This was an improvement greater than the world average, every country group, and every selected country. The rate of improvement tripled the average rate of improvement for low-income countries.  By 1980, China's life expectancy had risen to 67 years, fully 13 years ahead of India and better than the middle-income average (even though China had among the lowest per capita GDP in the world, which, it should be emphasized, did not result from the Maoist revolution but from China's long-term peripheralization in the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century). The success of China's socialism in advancing its general population's health conditions is indisputable.

The table he refers to takes its data from the World Bank, World Development Indicators Online http://devdata.worldbank.org/

This seems like a reasonable source to me, but I find it hard to believe I have never heard about this in the previous discussions of China and Mao I've heard.  Is this guy a hack?  If not, how do I continue to study the Maoist period in a way that focuses on the grass roots changes being made in China's societal structure that led to these breakthroughs?  How do I get a sense of the average Chinese farmer's sense of life spans prior to Mao?  Was there a native theory or awareness among the mass of Chinese prior to Maoism which was seeing how much older people become in neighboring countries or the West? Did Mao offer life span extension as an explicit goal of his changes?  To what extent did the revolution occur because people were aware that the way the free market was allocating resources was killing them and to what extent was Maoism a coaching of the people to this conclusion? What were particular changes in their society's structure that had immediate helpful results that people were hungry for before hand?  How much of the change was agricultural vs. medical vs. industrial?


texts: How did people receive news before the advent of the newspaper?

texts: I am specifically interested in the period right before the beginning of the newspaper era (which I'm broadly defining as the 18th century) so let's say 1600-1700. Was there a phenomenon like our present day "current events" that people, ie commoners, would be aware of? Or, were the going ons of royals, and sovereigns mostly the province of the elite?


texts: How educated were the Orthodox priests of Imperial Russia around 1800?

texts:
In Imperial Russia, "white" priests (as opposed to "black" monks) of the non-noble clergy ministered to the Orthodox public. Entering this profession meant entering a new social class; it did not require celibacy.

Since the job involved using written materials, priests had to be literate. The Orthodox liturgical language was Church Slavonic, somewhat different from modern Russian. As French was the prestige language of the time, it too was widely studied in seminaries. Apart from languages, surely the seminary students focused on mysteries, rituals, commentaries, etc.

I'm interested in things around the year 1800. How much education did local priests have in Imperial Russia? Did all priests attend seminaries, or could those at the frontier skip a formal education? What qualifications were needed to become a priest?


texts: Why did some people need to pay a bond in the 1700s in order to get married?

texts:
This is more a genealogy question than a historical event but I couldnt think of anywhere else to ask it. (I hope it not off topic)

In 1787 my Great (x6) Grandfather paid a bond of £200 the equilivent of £13,000 in todays money as a bond to marry his wife.  See transcript below.

  Are hereby become bound unto the Right Reverend Father in God Roberts
  by divine permission Lord Bishop of London in the sum of two hundred
  pounds of good and lawful money of Great-Britain, to be paid to him
  the said Right Reverend Father in God, or his lawful Attorney,
  Executors, successors or assigns: For the good and faithful payment of
  which sum, we do bind ourselves, and both of us, jointly and
  severally, for the whole, our heirs, executors and administrators,
  firmly by these presents, sealed with our seals, dated the second Day
  of April in the year of our lord 1787.

What is this bond? and why did he need to pay it?


texts: What is this coin? Figure in rose. Rev: Mansion

texts:
Looks old can only make out one word (my death )
Other than that no idea.


texts: What was the reason of extreme anti-Communism in the first half of 20th century?

texts:
It is often alleged that a grand part in the success of the Nazi and fascist movements in Europe was their hard-line anti-Communism. Thy used anti-Communist sentiments to gain popularity and even many people who did not share their views in general, still supported them due to their anti-Communist stance.

So I wonder what was the reason why anti-Communism gained such popularity in Europe.

It should be noted that the criticism of Communism of the late 20th century is not applicable to the first half. The major Cold-War era critcisms included human rights violations, deficit of democracy, inefficiency of planned economy and lack of economic freedom.

But in the first half of 20th century many anti-Communists would support authoritarian government, state regulation and restrictions on political rights to even greater degree than in communist countries.

There are several theories why anti-communism was so popular.

The communists themselves claim that the wealthy classes oppose communism because they want to keep their wealth and social inequality.

This theory does not explain why anti-communist movements (such as the Whites) included many people who were ready to sacrifice not only their wealth but also their lives to the fight against communism and that it included many of those who did not belong to the wealthy classes or belonged only formerly without any hope to return the possessions.

It should be also noted that in many cases the anti-communists employed extreme and difficult to explain cruelty to captured bolshevicks, such as freezing them alive, driving nails in their heads and the like, which is not normally observed in any economically-motivated wars such as wars for resources or colonies.

Sometimes it is argued that the hatred towards communism was motivated by religion. That the people just fought against atheism rather than an economic system.

This idea also does not explain why those anti-communists themselves supported regimes that were sometimes hostile or indifferent towards religion or even concluded alliances with states which worshiped non-Christian faith such as Islam or Buddhism, and why they were equally hostile towards left-leaning clerics (counting them as traitors).

So what are the reasons of the widespread hatred towards communism in the first half of XXth century?


texts: Who is Swedens rightful king considering the coup d'etat of 1809 deposed the then rightful king?

texts:
Considering that Gustav IV Adolf was forced to resign and driven to exile during a coup d'etat in 1809 and that the later Bernadotte family got into power after the death of Charles XIII, the brother of the king.

Who would be the Swedish king if the royal family had not been forced into exile by illegal means in 1809? Considering Sweden had primogeniture until 1980. I write illegal here since the coup was not issued by the Swedish parliament and thus can be viewed as such

  Princess Sofia Wilhelmina (21 May 1801 – 1865). She married Grand Duke
  Leopold of Baden, and their granddaughter Victoria of Baden married
  the Bernadotte king Gustaf V of Sweden. (The present King Carl XVI
  Gustaf of Sweden is thus Gustav IV's heir.) Source

According to Wikipedia. However, it does not list all her children. If some child of hers or her sisters younger or older would be male, these children would hold a stronger claim than the present king. According to the laws before the coup by the army officers.


texts: Why did American public opinion move away from isolationism in 1940-41?

texts:
In Lynne Olson's recent interview in the New York Times dealing with her book Those Angry Days
she notes that isolationism was "finished" by late 1941 and that a "sea change" occurred in American public opinion in the two years leading up to Pearl Harbour.

She talks about the dominance of the isolationist lobby in 1939, about both liberals and conservatives at the time having powerful reasons for wanting to keep the United States out of the war, and about the importance and strength of women's groups in the isolationist lobby.

She says little about why all this faded through 1940 and 1941 except to mention a disastrous anti-semitic speech by leading isolationist Charles Lindbergh in September 1941 which badly backfired.

She does claim that key interventionist groups were lobbying the president and congress to come to Britain's aid but doesn't say what motivated them or how ordinary public opinion in the United States was swayed in favour of interventionism.

It's a given that Pearl Harbour itself transformed the landscape. I'm interested in the period prior to that.


texts: What was the reason for Gandhi's visit to Africa

texts: Why did Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi visit South Africa? What was the purpose of his visit to South Africa?


texts: Why were 40,000 German troops left in Prague instead of pulled back to defend Berlin?

texts: In the wikipedia article for the 1945 Prague Uprising implies that there were still a large number of German troops stationed in Czechoslovakia; at least 40,000 of them, including crack SS armored units and even the Luftwaffe! Given that at that date Berlin was about to fall, would 40,000 troops and a Luftwaffe squad not at least made the Soviet attack on Berlin much more bloody and prolong the war for another few days?


texts: What received constitutional understandings did Pitt break in 1784?

texts:
An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution was first published in 1885, but I quote the 1915 8 edn.  p. 260 of this transcribed online PDF. Here's scan of original.

I don't understand Dicey's byzantine out-of-style English syntax. Please keep your answer VERY simple, as I'm not a professional historian or political theorist.

What "events of 1784" was Dicey referring to? What  did Pitt do in 1784?
How did Pitt's overriding of customs "establish" that Parliament's legal sovereignty is subordinate to the electorate's political sovereignty?

  The true answer to the objection thus raised appears to be that the observance of the
  main and the most essential of all constitutional rules, the rule, that is to say, requiring
  the annual meeting of Parliament, is ensured, without any necessity for Parliamentary
  action, by the temporary character of the Mutiny Act, and that the power of
  Parliament to compel obedience to its wishes by refusing to pass the Act is so
  complete that the mere existence of the power has made its use unnecessary. In matter
  of fact, no Ministry has since the Revolution of 1689 ever defied the House of
  Commons, unless the Cabinet could confide in the support of the country, or, in other
  words, could count on the election of a House which would support the policy of the
  government. To this we must add, that in the rare instances in which a Minister has
  defied the House, the refusal to pass the Mutiny Act has been threatened or
  contemplated. Pitt's victory over the Coalition is constantly cited as a proof that
  Parliament cannot refuse to grant supplies or to pass an Act necessary for the
  discipline of the army. Yet any one who studies with care the great “Case of the
  Coalition” will see that it does not support the dogma for which it is quoted. Fox and
  his friends did threaten and did intend to press to the very utmost all the legal powers
  of the House of Commons. They failed to carry out their intention solely because they
  at last perceived that the majority of the House did not represent the will of the
  country. What the “leading case” shows is, that the Cabinet, when supported by the
  Crown, and therefore possessing the power of dissolution, can defy the will of a
  House of Commons if the House is not supported by the electors. Here we come
  round to the fundamental dogma of modem constitutionalism; the legal sovereignty of
  Parliament is subordinate to the political sovereignty of the nation. This the
  conclusion in reality established by the events of 1784. Pitt overrode the customs,
  because he adhered to the principles, of the constitution. He broke through the
  received constitutional understandings without damage to his power or reputation; he
  might in all probability have in case of necessity broken the law itself with impunity.
  For had the Coalition pressed their legal rights to an extreme length, the new
  Parliament of 1784 would in all likelihood have passed an Act of Indemnity for

p. 261

  illegalities necessitated, or excused, by the attempt of an unpopular faction to drive
  from power a Minister supported by the Crown, by the Peers, and by the nation.
  However this may be, the celebrated conflict between Pitt and Fox lends no
  countenance to the idea that a House of Commons supported by the country would not
  enforce the morality of the constitution by placing before any Minister who defied its
  precepts the alternative of resignation or revolution.


texts: Is Thomas Wedgwood's picture actually the first photograph?

texts: I understand that a google search usually answers such questions, but I don't seem to find a definitive answer to this question. The University of Texas claims that the earliest known surviving photograph made in a camera, was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826 or 1827, even though I can find a Wikipedia article about Wedgwood with his portrait on it. Wedgewood died in 1805 before the Utexas photo was taken.


texts: Did the Philadelphia convention of 1787 consider and reject votes of no confidence?

texts:
While defending Donald Trump from removal from office by the Senate after Trump's impeachment, Prof. Alan Dershowitz said the framers of the Constitution explicitly rejected the system used in England, by which the head of government serves at the pleasure of the legislature.

The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787. I had the impression that the usage by which the British prime minister resigns if there is a vote of no confidence, today considered a venerable tradition, was new at the time, having begun five years earlier with Frederick North's resignation, so that it was not yet clear that that was to become the usual way of doing things.

How close is my impression to the truth?

Do Madison's notes on the convention of 1787, or any other evidence, indicate that the question of whether to use that kind of system was considered and rejected?


texts: Has an individual ever purchased an entire country?

texts:
At any point in history, has an individual ever purchased an entire country - using their private wealth?

Specifically, I'm looking for any examples of somebody who has purchased an entire already-existing country - not simply buying significant amounts of land, and then founding a new country from it.

Ideally, the person who purchased the country, would then be in charge of its governance. However if no such situation exists, examples of things that come close would be welcome too (such as owning all land and infrastructure - but not directly governing the country).

Has such an event ever happened in history?


texts: How were steam turbines typically manufactured in the interwar period (1918 - 1939)

texts:
Steam turbines are large rotating machinery, with many blades, that convert steam power into rotary motion. In the interwar period, 1918 - 1939, they were used principally in power plants and naval propulsion, as far as I know.

How were they typically manufactured during this time? I'm especially interested in whether the blades were cast into molds, or else had to be forged and shaped by a machine. This has huge implications for cost.

Note I have a related yet much more specific question about steam turbine blade alloy.


texts: How much did Spanish California officials earn?

texts:
It is my understanding that in Alta California, priests and natives in Missions earned no cash salary, but Spanish army officials would have. From the governor down to a junior soldier, what did they earn?

The answer will be somewhat loose: I read that they went unpaid during the entire decade of the Mexican War of Independence.


texts: Are there any references to entombed animals in ancient India?

texts:
The 13th century Hindu philosopher Arulnandi Shivacharya wrote a work called the Shiva Jnana Siddhiyar, which among other things contains a refutation of Buddhist philosophy.  In this excerpt, various Buddhist theories of what the ultimate cause of the body is are refuted:

  If you say bodies are formed from the mixture of four elements, then these cannot unite as their natures are opposed to each other. If you say they are formed by the union of blood and semen, then account for toads being found in the heart of rocks, and worms in the heart of trees. If you say the real cause is good and bad Karma, then these, being opposed, cannot join and form bodies. If food is the cause, then the food which in youth develops the body is not capable of preventing decay in old age. If intelligence is the cause, then that which is formless Chaitanya cannot assume Achaitanya (non-intelligent) form. If you assert that bodies are formed from nothing, then we could cull flowers from the sky.

My question is about the part in bold, which is arguing that intercourse cannot be the ultimate cause of the body, because there are toads which are found in the center of solid rock, and they couldn't have been produced by intercourse since there's no way that toads could have gone inside a solid rock and reproduced.

This statement struck me as rather odd, but then I found out from the Wikipedia article Entombed animal that claims of toads being found in solid rock are surprisingly common across many cultures:

  Entombed animals are animals reportedly found alive after being encased in solid rock, or coal or wood, for an indeterminate amount of time. The accounts usually involve frogs or toads. The reputed phenomenon, sometimes called "toad in the hole", has been dismissed by mainstream science, but has remained a topic of interest to Fortean researchers.... References to entombed animals have appeared in the writings of William of Newburgh, J. G. Wood, Ambroise Paré, Robert Plot, André Marie Constant Duméril, John Wesley, and others. Even Charles Dickens mentioned the phenomenon in his journal All the Year Round. According to the Fortean Times, about 210 entombed animal cases have been described in Europe, North America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand since the fifteenth century.

Conspicuously absent from that list of places is Asia.  So my question is, are there any references in ancient India to entombed animals?  The work I quoted above was written in the 13th century.  But I'm wondering whether there are earlier references to this phenomenon.  Arulnandi Shivachrya refers to this phenomenon as if it's common knowledge, so I'm guessing older sources would mention it as well.


texts: Is there any truth to my family's story about "Cooper's Pie Wagon"?

texts:
According to family lore, my great-uncle Dr. John Cooper
"was a surgeon on Gen. Sherman's and Gen. Fremont's staffs. Credited with the invention of the ambulance; soldiers nicknamed it as Cooper's "Pie Wagon."

Despite quite a bit of research, I have not been able to confirm either of these claims.  I'm sure he didn't "invent" the ambulance, but is it possible he at least popularized it among some units?


texts: Was the death toll in the atomic bombing of Japanese territory greater than was expected by the US?

texts:
It is known that the US tried to justify their atomic bombing of Japanese cities by claiming they were aimed at military targets such as a plant and a bridge. Yet the bombs destroyed much more than just a plant and a bridge - virtually, the whole cities. The human life loss much exceeded the numbers of the plant's personnel.

Did the US indeed expect that the explosion will destroy just one factory rather than the entire city?