texts: Did Catherine of Aragon use the title Princess of Wales before she was married to Prince Arthur?

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In several historical fiction books that I've read about Catherine of Aragon, she uses the title Princess of Wales as a child. I can't remember if the books were claiming that she used this title after her betrothal by proxy to Arthur in 1497, or after The Treaty of Medina del Campo in  1489, but I do know that it is mentioned in multiple books.
Did she actually use the title Princess of Wales before her marriage? Did she have a right to?

Did the Treaty of Medina del Campo give her that right?
Did her betrothal give her that right?

ETA: I found an example

"We will be burned alive!" Madilla, her servant, screamed behind her. "Run! Run and hide!"
"You can be quiet." The child rounded on her with sudden angry spite. "If I, the Princess of Wales herself, can be left in a burning campsite, then you, who are nothing but a Morisco anyway, can certainly endure it."

The chapter takes place in 1491 (The Constant Princess, Philippa Gregory)


texts: How many dresses did Catherine the Great have in her wardrobe just before she died. I have a clue that one of their lovers took notes. I'm still researching and I will post if I find something.


texts: Why do we study Mughals as part of medieval history of India and European conquest as modern India?

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Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, came to power in 1526. Aurangzeb, the last Mughal ruler (not counting later Mughals), died in 1707.
The Portuguese came to India in 1498 and by 1510 they had captured Goa.  The Dutch came in 1605, the English in 1607, and the French in 1668. One can even count the Danish — who came in the 1660s.
So, why do we study Mughals as part of the medieval period and European conquest as modern India?


texts: Did the people who initiated the trans-Atlantic slave trade think they were doing something new?

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I'm trying to get at an insider's perspective on the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and on the institution of slavery in the New World more generally. Partly I'm puzzled by why it took until the 18th century for slavery to be seen as bad (which is discussed nicely in this related question). Taking the question back a step: did the people who initiated the trans-Atlantic slave trade see themselves as doing something new?

I'd like to understand the issue in the context of other non-free labor of the era, as it had grown out of feudalism. Serfdom died out in England in the 16th century; the serfs in Russia were not freed until the 19th century. So there was some kind of social category for “people who had to work the land and couldn't leave.” Did early slavers just see themselves as carrying on the feudal system in a new place, or did they think of it as something new?


texts: Did starvation or malnutrition occur in indigenous American societies?

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Colonizers of the Americas often paid natives for work in food, and justified the certainty in doing so as an improvement over the supposedly hazardous, unpredictable lifestyle those natives previously led. For example, Fermin Francisco de Lasuén wrote that mission neophytes "are sure of daily sustenance, when before they lived from hand to mouth."

Of course, the native societies were relatively stable. People could  could call on a range of resources and social networks as needed. Was there a real risk of deprivation or starvation in those native societies, before they were disrupted?


texts: An Austrian Emperor who thought taking his own sweet time about rewarding his underlings was the best way to inspire respect?

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I once glanced into a history book (which I don't own -- perhaps I was browsing in a library, years ago) and saw a reference to the following:

Once upon a time, there was a Hapsburg boy who grew up to become the Austrian Emperor. I have a vague idea that he ruled in the 17th and/or early 18th centuries. (But this could be wrong.)
He was powerfully influenced by his mother's ideas. It seems that she told him that it was best not to be too generous, too quickly, because people would start to take his generosity for granted instead of trying to earn it by showing him all due obedience and respect.
The upshot of this was that after he was ruling as Emperor, he would often promise big rewards to noblemen who had served him well . . . and then take his own sweet time about actually following through on those promises. He believed, apparently thanks to his mother, that this would make people more inclined to keep giving him lots of respect and obedience in order to keep on his good side.
It didn't quite work out that way. Powerful men (such as the Prince of This or the Duke of That) would come to notice that, years after their sovereign had "promised" something, he still hadn't delivered, and in any other man this would have been regarded as the mark of a useless deadbeat who had no intention of ever paying his bills! So they became less and less inclined to meekly go along with the Emperor's ideas, because they came to regard him as an unreliable child who talked big and then failed to deliver on his bargains.

I don't know much about Austrian history, and a while back, doing a little Googling, I failed to determine which Emperor this would have been. Does anyone think it sounds familiar? (I can't remember anything about the book in which I ran across the above summary, beyond the fact that it was written in the English language.)


texts: How did people ensure that renaissance Papal election bribery was honored?

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Some papal elections during the rennaisance were notorious for allegations of bribery. For example the 1492 conclave which elected Rodrigo Borgia as Pope Alexander VI. The amount needed for bribes were considerable, e.g. Wikipedia mentioned "four mule-loads of silver". Also, elections were not frequent enough for people to simply trust each other by habit. How did people ensure that such a risky transaction was honored?

If the payment was first, how could the payer know that, after that big payment, the cardinal would vote as requested? If the payment was later, how could the cardinal know that he would be paid?


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Can anybody identify the cap-badge and/or uniform in this image?

I'm hoping the period is c. 1899/1900 and should be UK based???

My searches to date have turned up a blank; but then I have no military background.


texts: How did the British keep Enigma 'snatches' secret?

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During WW2 the British (and allies) occasionally managed to capture an Enigma machine and/or code books from a sinking sub or weather-ship.

How did they keep the capture secret?

The crews must have known that the codes hadn't gone down with the ship, and are likely to have seen the British boarding parties going on-board. As POWs, their family would have been informed of their survival (I think the Geneva convention requires this?).

Didn't the value of the captured codebooks depend on the Germans believing they'd gone down with the ship? If they knew that the crew had survived wouldn't they think the vessel had survived and change the codes as a precaution? Or did the British keep these survivors isolated?

I'm currently reading Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's enigma - the battle for the code' it mentions the captured codebooks, but not how the German sailors were kept silent, I know they were sent to a POW camp which included Germans who definitely were allowed to write home.

UPDATE - According to Wikipedia (so it must be true!) Operation primrose which involved the capture of codebooks and 37 German submariners was the 'biggest allied secret for 7 months of the war'

I guess my question really boils down to, did the allies admit that they'd captured the submariners (which is what's supposed to happen) or did they hold them completely isolated from other POWs and only allow them into general circulation 7 months later? Or were they so confident in their censoring of the mail that they felt that they could tell the families they were still alive, allow them to mingle with fellow prisoners and somehow still be confident the information couldn't leak back?


texts: Was the end date of Soviet-Japanese Border War the direct reason of starting Soviet invasion on Poland in 1939

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The end date of the Soviet-Japanese Border War oddly coincides with the beginning date of the Soviet invasion on Poland in 1939. Was the end date of the Soviet-Japanese Border War the direct reason of starting the Soviet invasion on Poland on 17th of September 1939?

(In other words if the Japanese army had stood longer, then the Soviet invasion on Poland would have been delayed and might have had an influence on how the Invasion on Poland moved.)


texts: Why have the economies of North and South Korea diverged since 1970?

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Nowadays, it's obvious that South Korea is richer than North Korea.

Yet, wikipedia and a pictoral essay at 9gag claim that until 1970 North Korea had the same size economy as South Korea.

Why the dramatic divergence since 1970?


texts: Parable of the broken window and 1929 crisis

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I've read that, in 1938, economic crisis was taking back, and that it's the war effort that finally closed the 1929 crisis.

Is it not a version of the parable of the broken window ? How a war effort could be good for the economy ? (because, as the parable says, spending money in war is the same for the GDP than spending money in other things, but the last is better for the welfare of people)


texts: What were common reasons people attended executions in mid 1930s.?

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In The Green Mile movie (1999) the main character is a guardian in jail and performs death penalty executions. One can see that on such executions some external people come to watch (as "external" I mean common people other than guardians, priest, and all the stuff). The action takes place in 1930s. - if I remember correctly - Louisiana.

Are there any memoirs, press articles, explaining why people did attend such shows?

In medieval times or even up to 1800s. it was some sort of entertainment or just curiosity ("Something is happening on the town square, I'll better go and check out"). The depicted events happen in the jail, so it is necessary to come there (make some effort).

Was it just to ensure myself that the Good always wins or the law system operates correctly? Maybe was it some sort of public pressure to enjoy this? Was it considered to be a citizen's duty?


texts: Did the defense of the Brest fortress make sense?

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I came across an opinion of an alternative "historian"/conspiracy theorist who claims that the defense of Brest fortress did not make sense. According to his theory, its inhabitants should have left the fortress to the Germans because a counter-offensive was planned for a later stage. As far as I understand, he thinks that the retreat of the Red Army in the early phases of the war was part of Stalin's strategy.

I want to investigate whether or not his opinion may be true.

Imagine that instead of trying to defend the Brest fortress, its inhabitants retreat without much bloodshed. Would the Red Army lose anything important (compared to the real life scenario in which Soviet troops defended the fortress for 30 days, until most of them were killed)?

Or, same question in different words: What exactly did the Red Army gain from the defence of the Brest fortress?

My answer

Hypothesis: Defense of the Brest fortress did not make any sense

Argument in support of the hypothesis

All other Soviet units in its vicinity either retreated or were destroyed by the Germans. The Germans could advance eastwards regardless of whether they seized the fortress or not.

Arguments against the hypothesis

In Wikipedia I found the following text:

  The fortress and the city controlled the crossings over the Bug River, as well as the Warsaw–Moscow railway and highway.

If this is true, then the Germans could not use

the Bug river and
the Warsaw-Moscow railway

as transportation channels as long as the fortress was not captured.

Update 1:

This argument has been refuted by @pnuts:

  But the strategic objectives - control over the Panzerrollbahn I, i.e. the road to Moscow, the important railway line, and the bridges over the Bug river - were accomplished the very first day of the war.

Source: Wikipedia article mentioned above.


texts: Where did John Adams write of the night he shared a bed and an argument with Benjamin Franklin? Did Franklin write of it as well?

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The BBC News article Viewpoint: Why Trump may win his legal fight over border wall it says:

American politics have not been so bitter and divided since Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were forced to share the same bed in 1776.

Question: From "Adams wrote..." (below) I can deduce that at least part of the story was reconstructed from the writings of John Adams, but it's not stated where. Is it known where the events of this bedtime quarrel were recounted? Has Benjamin Franklin wrote of his side of the story as well?
The rest of the quote:

A different age
That brings us back to the night Franklin and Adams had to share a bed. The two founding fathers were going to meet Admiral Richard Howe of the British Royal Navy in Staten Island to discuss the possibility of ending the Revolutionary War.
They found themselves in New Brunswick, New Jersey, at the Indian Queen Tavern. However, it was full and only one room with one small bed was available.
Two of the most irascible framers of the US Constitution crawled into the small bed and immediately began to quarrel.
Franklin had opened up a window but Adams held the common view of the time that you could get ill from night vapours. Franklin insisted that cool fresh air was, in fact, a health benefit and added: "I believe you are not acquainted with my theory of colds."

Caption: Strange bedfellows... John Adams and Benjamin Franklin

They argued all night until Adams fell asleep. Adams simply wrote later: "I soon fell asleep, and left him and his philosophy together."
It is perhaps a lesson for our times.


texts: Why do so many national flags contain the color red?

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I was doing some riddles with my daughter today and mentioned some nations. She had to 'calculate' how many of those nations' flags had the color red in them.

As it happened, all of them did. In addition, a lot of them contain white (which I guess makes sense since the color of cloth is white) and blue.

However, red seems to be the color that is most used and in this Wikipedia article it seems to be confirmed.

UPDATE: This article on Wikipedia shows that 30% of the surface on all flags is red, with white being a distant second with 18%.


texts: Was there a president that wanted to "Make America Farm Again"?

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There seems to be a lot of push back as the US employment markets move toward knowledge work and away from more traditional industrial roles.

I'm sure there was a similar time in history when moving from focusing on agriculture to industry. My question is, was there a political movement around this as well?


texts: Why did Hitler not concentrate more on North Africa?

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The Germans knew that oil would be crucial to the war and that they would likely need to capture new sources for the war effort.

The main oil-producing regions at the time that might be captured were the Caucasus region of southern Russia and the Middle East.

The Germans committed hundreds of divisions in their attempts to take the Russian oil but mere fractions of this to the African front, which was less well defended.

Why is this, and why were the following not considered to help:

Hitler had helped Franco in the Spanish Civil War, why not get the Spanish to capture Gibraltar thus tipping the balance of power in the Mediterranean decisively towards the Axis?
Were any political attempts made to get Turkey to join the war on the Axis side, thus allowing a second front to be opened in the Middle East and Russia?
Could the DAK have been activated sooner and with greater resources including more Luftwaffe support?

By staging a more aggressive campaign sooner, could the Germans have won in North Africa thus gaining sufficient oil in order to not have to worry about it when Barbarossa was launched?


texts: When and where did the practice of calling either a fencing teacher or a great swordsman "master" originates from?  I am interested mainly in European primary sources, the older the better.


texts: Did the Muslims of Granada expect their Christian conquerors to keep their promised terms?

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The Treaty of Granada which surrendered Granada, the last Muslim-controlled area in medieval Spain, to King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile seemed to be quite generous, magnanimous and honorable. In return for the surrender, the Christian victors promised pretty much safe conduct and religious tolerance for Granada's inhabitants. The treaty was pretty specific in guaranteeing the Muslims' right, including related to religious practice and guarding them against forced conversions. Some of the provisions include:

  ...

  That their mosques, and the religious endowments appertaining to them, should remain as they were in the times of Islam.
  That no Christian should enter the house of a Muslim, or insult him in any way

  ...

  That the Christians who had embraced Islam should not be compelled to relinquish it and adopt their former creed.
  That any Muslim wishing to become a Christian should be allowed some days to consider the step he was about to take; after which he is
  to be questioned by both a Muslim and a Christian judge concerning his
  intended change, and if, after this examination, he still refused to
  return to Islam, he should be permitted to follow his own inclination.
  That no muezzin should be interrupted in the act of calling the people to prayer, and no Muslim molested either in the performance of his daily devotions or in the observance of his fast, or in any other religious ceremony; but that if a Christian should be found laughing at them he should be punished for it.

  ...

But in the end, within a couple of years the victors revoked the tolerant provisions in this treaty, and a total persecution and expulsion of Muslims (and Jews) from Spain would follow. See Spanish Inquisition, Persecution of Muslims in Iberian Peninsula, Expulsion of the Moriscos.

My question: did they (the Muslim residents) expect the Christians to respect this treaty? The answer can be based on any written records from their side (I understand this might bias highly on their middle-upper class who left written records), or if that's not possible, from what could be reasonably expected based on previous observation of such treaty in this period and place, or the reputation of the Castilians prior to this surrender (the Christians and the Muslims in Spain had both been in Spain for the past 7 centuries or so, I'm sure there must have been precedents such as truces, peace treaties or alliances and expectation about how likely they were kept).


texts:
During the medieval times, trade caravans using camels criss crossed the Sahara and Meghreb. For example, salt caravans from the Empire of Mali to the near east.
I've wondered for a long time how they could navigate these long distances in unremarkable, or constantly shifting terrain, without a compass.
I can imagine at night they could use the stars to get some bearing, but in the day time with the sun directly overhead, how did they know which way to go?


texts: Was "money to get the power, power to keep the money" a motto of Lorenzo de Medici?

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According the article The Economic Policy of Machiavelli’s Prince on the website of the Independent Institute:

  This same Lorenzo the Magnificent represented a family of merchant princes whose charming motto was the forthright declaration: "money to get the power, power to keep the money." Rarely has anyone expressed the essence of politics so pithily.

Several websites state that was his motto. However, I cannot find an "official" confirmation of this. I've googled motto of the house of Medici and that of Lorenzo and the answers are different. The article Meet the Medici suggests that Lorenzo's one was "Whoever wants to be happy, let him be so; of tomorrow there is no knowing".  This and other sites suggest it was instead "Le temps revient".

Is there somewhere conclusive evidence of the true motto of Lorenzo de Medici?


texts: On the World War 2-era WD AGO Form 53-55, which was the four-page honorable discharge form, there is a code or reference in Box 32 (Battles and Campaigns) which on my father-in-law's form says "Rhineland; "GO 33 WD 45 as amended".  What does that phrase refer to?


texts: Were there any pro-Native American groups during the Indian Wars?

texts:
I've recently been reading about the Indians Wars in the mid-1800s, especially as they focused towards the Great Plains. I know that a lot of people supported the army and their westward ventures, but I was wondering if there might also have been some sort of opposition.

Were there any pro-Native American groups that were against the US infringement on Native American territories in the 1800s? If not, is there at least any evidence of sentiment against these actions?

Thanks in advance!


texts: What did Catesby and crew expect to do after the explosion?

texts:
In Britain, we are taught in school about the Gunpowder Plot, the events that led to it and to Fawkes's capture on November 5th 1605 under the Houses of Parliament and the gradual round-up of the co-conspirators. But do we know what they planned to do if Fawkes had succeeded in blowing up the palace?

Presumably Fawkes himself would have died, along with the King and parliament (and many other Londoners near the new Westminster Crater). This would leave no government; what would have taken its place? Did they arrange foreign invasion or support from a Catholic power? Did they plan to win over the country themselves? Were they building a home grown army?


texts: Who participated in the Gran Sasso raid/Operation Eiche?

texts:
I am looking for a list of all soldiers who participated in the Gran Sasso raid/Operation Eiche.

The Wikipedia list only the 4 who received Knight's Cross, and the 9 with German Cross in Gold.

But who were the rest? Those who received the Iron Cross (EK I or EK II)? Or those who had fallen (if there were any)?

Perhaps there is a way to find out who were the members of Fallschirmjäger-Lehr-Bataillon of the 2. Fallschirmjägerdivision, 1/FJR 7; SS-Sonderverband z.b.V. Friedenthal in September 1943?


texts: A fuller is the rounded or beveled groove or slot in the flat side of a blade which make the blade lighter -- not as some suggest a blood groove.  When did the practice start?  I suspect it was a parallel discovery but could be wrong.


texts:
This is a cross question from Quora: What was Pope Sylvester's attitude towards Jews?

When searching for this issue I just did find newspaper articles without citing anything.

Celebrating an anti-semitic pope on Sylvester (The Jerusalem Post)

Did he really cause that Jews were prohibited living in Jerusalem? Was he antisemitic?

Was he tolerant against Jews?  I would like to have sources in answers if they exist.

Thanks,


texts: Why did Britain and France not declare war against the Soviet Union when it invaded Poland in WW2?

texts:
At the beginning of WW2, although they were slow in actually attacking Germany, Britain and France did declare war against it after Germany invaded Poland. The reason for this was the treaty where they guaranteed Poland against foreign invasion. However, the Soviet Union also invaded Poland during this period, yet there is no ultimatum (as far as I know) or declaration of war.

Was there a legitimate reason for this inconsistency? I don't think the Soviets were allied to France and Britain back then.


texts: When did the Roman consular year begin during the Republic and Empire?

texts:
In which month did the Roman consular year begin, and how has this beginning shifted throughout the Roman state's existence? A full list of changes in chronological order would be appreciated.

In addition, how should the year of occurrence of events be accurately interpreted? As an example, Livy states that the disaster at the Cremera occurred in the consulship of Horatius and Menenius, which has been identified by scholars as the year 477 BC (Varronian Chronology). Is this referring to 478/477 BC or 477/476 BC?


texts: Did English/British merchant sailors receive written testimonials between 1500 and 1750?

texts:
I seem to remember reading that at the end of a voyage a sailor got a conduct report written by the captain along with his pay. These testimonials were then valuable in getting him his next job. It sounds extremely reasonable and plausible but I'm struggling to find any confirmation. I'm interested in the period 1500-1750.

By testimonial I mean a short note written by the captain attesting to your good conduct and character. A sailor would show them to future potential employers.


texts: Why did pastorial people from central Asia migrate to Europe?

texts:
Alans, Huns, Magyars, Mongols.

They were all pastoralists whose material culture and economic life seems more suited to the Asian steppes.

Yet for some reason they migrated into the European land mass and settled into farming.

Why is this the case?


texts: What would be a typical rank for KGB intelligence officers spying abroad in the 1980s?

texts:
What would be typical ranks of KGB officers spying in the west during the 1980s?  I know  some western spies were recruited by the KGB, that after defecting to the Soviet Union got/had ranks in the KGB (so there were ranks), but what about the typical Russian KGB officers sent to the west for secret and (more or less) independent missions?

What would the likely ranks be for a pair of sleeper-agents under deep-cover posing as a married couple for years in the USA? Entrusted with making their own decisions in a pinch, running both knowing and unknowing informants, and running and recruiting networks of agents?

Of course I'm not implying such sleeper-cells existed in the USA, just asking for likely ranks. I'm asking after watching the TV-show "The Americans", which got me thinking about the likely rank (if any) of Elizabeth and Philip.


texts: What was the process for the Japanese to sign up for the Kamikaze suicide program?

texts: Was it random drafting or was it a personal decision? What were the benefits to family etc for signing up?


texts: Percentages of wealthy and educated European immigrants to the US through out history?

texts: I'm interested in knowing the percentages of wealthy and educated European immigrants to the US through out the country's history, but I can't find that online. I'll leave the definition of being wealthy and educated open because I'm more interested in the big picture, and I don't think it's reasonable to expect detailed information about it until 1950's right? Any help would be appreciated.


texts: Could Margaret Beaufort have been responsible for killing of the Princes in the Tower?

texts: According to Philippa Gregory, Margaret Beaufort had the best motive, because with their deaths her son Henry became 2 steps closer to the throne, and also she hated Elizabeth Woodville.


texts: Who had a private jet before Frank Sinatra?

texts:
The first jet aircraft flew in 1939. Militaries were the first customers of jets, in the 1940s.
The de Havilland Comet, making commercial passenger flights from 1952, was the first jet designed for civilian use. Models intended for business use followed and in June 1965 Frank Sinatra received his Learjet, paying $495,000 (sunlakesaeroclub.org, bbc.com).

Were there individual owners of jet aircraft, not heads of state, before Sinatra?

Clarification in light of comments: I want to know about people who held a controlling interest in a jet plane, directly or through privately held companies. The CEO of a publicly traded company may have free use, but doesn't own the company plane.


texts: Why is the nuclear powered USS Nautilus (SSN-571) a museum, when nuclear aircraft carriers are not converted to museums?

texts:
My understanding is that the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine is now a museum. This boat was a real nuclear vessel, so it should have all the hazards associated with a decommissioned nuclear propulsion system.

Why was this allowed, whenever ships like the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) are not permitted to become museums? The ostensible reason for the Enterprise is that it is too dangerous due to the ships nuclear reactors. I would think the same would apply to the Nautilus.


texts: Intersection Between Computer Science and History?

texts:
I am a computer science undergrad with a great interest in history.  Lately I have been asking myself if there are general aspects or specialities of computer science which lend themselves to the study of history.  Given that I would likely find any such combination of great interest and others here would too, I thought this would be a good topic to ask here. Not only are there potentially other technically minded people, but also history professionals who may already be working with specific computer technology, methods, and algorithms.

Brownie points for those who provide specific references of potentially applicable technology (such as algorithms, programs, methodology, etc.)
Super OMG points for those who provide specific avenues of research which combine the study of history with approaches from computational disciplines.

I have some specific examples which I will provide in the answer section if there is some confusion over the general question or if answers are not necessarily forthcoming.

P.S. - I understand that this is a question that may be better suited to another forum (or to two forums?).  I understand if the community feels that this question needs to be migrated.


texts: I recall reading a Wikipedia article about an Age of Sail naval combat incident between two vessels, the smaller one being attacked by the larger one. I don't remember anything about the participants except that the defending vessel, despite being severely outmanned and outgunned, managed to win with little or no casualties on their side by somehow forcing the enemy below the deck and controlling the exits, allowing only one to come out at a time. Can anyone identify the naval action based on this description?


texts: How useful are mythological king lists and geneologies for historians?

texts:
(some sources distinguish between mythology and legends; for the purpose of this question, I'm asking about narrations about human beings. For example stories of everyday human beings, genealogies  of kings etc.

What is the role of and legend as historical sources?

There are lists of kings and genealogies of  the past in mythological works. Although not supported by rigorous documentation, they offer a glimpse of some of the powerful rulers present at that time or the names which are collected by the author. For example, author Shri  Veda Vyasa mentions various kings, names of their kingdoms and geographical locations etc. in the epic  Mahabharata, which is considered as Itihasa or history.

Even if there is insufficient supporting evidence to conclude that the lists are accurate, is it possible to form and test inferences based on these legends? Can they be treated similar to oral histories and other non-textual sources?

I am interested to find out that to what extend such listings of kings or rulers  are considered valid and correct in order to  ascertain history of particular region (not only of India but in general )   by historians? Do historians  consider them as authentic.?


texts: What is the oldest musical composition that can still be listened to today?

texts:
What is the oldest musical composition that exists both as verifiable historical notation (or some other primary source) and as available recording on CD (or better e.g. on YouTube)?

For instance, Gregorian chants (e.g. as performed by Schola Gregoriana Pragensis) are very old  -- from the first millennium AD. China's Imperial Music Bureau as an institution is even much older.


texts: Who were the members of Hartnell's _Compañía Extranjera_?

texts: In 1832, William Hartnell convened a posse of fifty immigrants to "help keep the peace" in California (according to "The Lives of William Hartnell" by Dakin). The group was called "La Compañía Extranjera" (The Foreign Company). Who were the fifty members of the Compañía?


texts: How did European tiny states, like San Marino, Monaco, Andorra and Liechtenstein (excluding the Vatican, whose survival is clearly connected to religious reasons) manage to not be absorbed by bigger national states, in the heyday of their respective expansions?


texts: Were wealthy people and royals of medieval time able to distinguish real diamond/pearl/gold from fake? or did they rely on jewelers?


texts: How and when did the border regime change when the USSR broke up?

texts:
According to my knowledge, borders between individual SSR's were generally open and consisted just of signs during Soviet times. With the breakup of the union, the problem of border security arose. Now, only the Russian-Belorussian border is free to cross, other borders being controlled borders with toll checkpoints and long queues.

My question is:

How did the border regime between the individual SSR's change during and after the breakup of the USSR? When were border controls imposed?
How did the first provisional border control posts look? How were roads changed to cater for the need to control traffic?


texts: What evidence do we have for the state of ecstasy in primitive cultures?

texts:
I'm studying anthropology just out of curiosity and my knowledge on this field is really limited. I am interested in the state of ecstasy and its effects in primitive psychology.

What evidence do we have of rituals that at some point got to an ecstatic state? What was the significance of this state to these cultures?

P.S. Please go easy on me, it's my first post here. Edits are welcome.


texts: What advanced educational opportunities were available to native Africans in the early 1890's?

texts: I remember reading once that there were universities in India that were managed or run by the British, and that these schools permitted native Africans to attend. However, it was a long time ago and I can't find the source. (Of course, it's also possible that I imagined it all!) Can anyone help me identify any university level schools that would have accepted native African students during the early 1890's? It doesn't matter to me where they might have been located, but I would be particularly interested in any around the Africa region or possible England.


texts: Why did the Middle Kingdom stop building pyramid tombs?

texts: In the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians built pyramids to serve as tombs for their pharaohs. In the Middle Kingdom, they dug in the cliffs in the Valley of the Kings. What is the reason for them changing from pyramid-building to placing their tombs in this valley?


texts: Did "loan sharks" arise after debtors' prison was eliminated?

texts: One reads about loaning money in the past and the subtext is, if you were not repaid according to the terms of a note you held, you could get the debtor arrested. Eventually, debtors' prisons and being arrested for debt were largely eliminated in the USA and so those loaning money had more difficulty collecting. So did this cause the advent of loan sharks, people who could force the collection of money without resort to law -- essentially, before the government acted as the enforcers of debt and now loan sharks had to do it themselves?


texts: Is the steel pan the only acoustic musical instrument to be invented in the 20th century and used widely around the world?

texts: I have seen claims that the steel pan (commonly called steel drum) was the only acoustic instrument developed in the 20th century. Is this true? There are related instruments (the Hang or hand pan) but I'm interested in the history of unique musical instruments that are more than experimental musical instruments.  I'm trying to find sources to support or refute these claims, but I cannot seem to find anything definitive.


texts: Did Trotsky serve as a hate-figure in PRC propaganda?

texts:
Maoism and Trotskyism share some similar ideas (by Maoism I am referring specifically to the guiding philosophies of the PRC during Mao's rule, and by Trotskyism I mean the beliefs of Trotsky, not whatever sixth-formers believe right now). Both wanted 'permanent revolution', which Mao attempted to practice with appalling results. Both were very keen on spreading the revolution, as opposed to Stalin's isolationism.

However, Stalin was venerated in China as a way of denigrating Khrushchev. Propaganda-wise, I suppose you can't really have both Stalin and Trotsky as icons. Did the PRC use Trotsky as a hate-figure in their propaganda, notwithstanding the parallels between its own ideology and his, or did they just ignore him?


texts: Did loot from the 4th Crusade turn up in interesting places?

texts: The horses of St. Mark were taken to Venice. Are there any other objects that are known to have turned up elsewhere?


texts: What happened to those ethnic Greeks who converted to Islam during the Ottoman empire?

texts:
I got a little inspiration from a previous post on the History part:

"Why were Albanians the only nation in the Balkans who converted to Islam during the Ottoman occupation?"

Does anyone know roughly how many ethnic Greeks converted to Islam during the Ottoman Empire and where are they now, how many are left, and do they have an identity?


texts: When did the Pakistan army used tank for the first time during the 1971 Bangladesh war?

texts: I would like to know the first recorded case of usage of tank in the Bangladesh war which took place in 1971.


texts: How did lay people understand logic in the Greco-Roman world?

texts: I'm not interested in what Aristotle or the stoics wrote; how did "common" people understand  practical logic, especially as it relates to rhetoric?


texts:
I keep hearing in the news Joe Biden received 80 million votes in the recent 2020 US election, more votes than any presidential in US history (and quite possibly more votes for anything in US history).  This makes me curious as to who (or what) has the title of receiving the most votes for anything in human history.
Question: Who (or what) has received the most votes for anything in human history?
To count as a vote:

Votes are cast only by humans, and
One human can only cast one vote.

They don't have to be voting for a person, e.g., they could be voting to name a boat Boaty McBoatface, or a post on Stack Overflow.  Biden's 80 million votes is nearly tripled by Indian PM Modi's 229,076,879 votes (approx. 2.97% of the world's population), which is possibly the answer (but maybe I'm not being imaginative enough).
(I'm guessing something along the lines of the Luring Lottery might be the answer if we drop the second condition.)


texts: Has a head of state ever actually killed another in battle?

texts:
In "historical" or fantasy movies you often see the two enemy leaders fighting directly in the middle of the battle, mainly to allow for dialogue.
I know that leaders have had their enemies executed after the battle - there are multiple examples of executions by the Mongols. And some may have fought in single combat against each other. But I'm only interested in battlefield combat.
Has anything like this ever happened? I mean, it seems spectacularly unlikely.


texts: What was the price of a horse around 1750?

texts: I'm looking for the average price of a horse, in British Pounds, around the year 1750. I'm interested in draft horses (they pull carts), not riding horses, but the difference in price between those two wouldn't hurt. And I'm more interested in colonial America rather than Europe, although I have no idea if the prices will be very different.


texts: Why didn't France do a better job of "politically" protecting franc-tireurs during the Franco_Prussian War?

texts:
After France lost the battle of Sedan, some of the best defenses of French territory were conducted by franc-tireurs, or what we would call snipers, operating "American Revolution" style, civilians sharp-shooting from cover (as opposed to the European formation infantry). They were originally organized as light infantry, as an "adjunct" to the military, as "irregular" troops.

When captured, franc-tireurs were summarily executed by the Germans. The reason given were that they were ununiformed troops without a chain of command. (only the first of four Geneva Conventions had been adopted by 1871). So two questions arise:

1) Why didn't the French military issue uniforms, badges, and chains of command to militia units that had been organized, and were operating as franc-tireurs in order to comply with then-existing military customs?

2) Why didn't the "regular" French military adopt "guerrilla tactics?"

Put another way, was there a genuine fear/feeling that "lack of uniform" was only an "excuse" for executing guerrillas, and that even regular soldiers performing as guerrillas would be executed?


texts: Why are most monarchies in Europe of German descent?

texts:
When we look at existing monarchies in Europe, following are of German descent:

Royal Family of Belgium
Royal Family of United Kingdom
Royal Family of Denmark
Royal Family of Liechtenstein
Royal Family of Luxembourg (Now Italian House of Bourbon-Parma but historically Germanic House of Nassau)
Royal Family of Holland
Royal Family of Norway

These make up for almost all existing & reigning dynasties in Europe except Monacan, Spanish and Swedish royal families. In the past German House of Habsburg has even ruled Spain & Mexico. Hohenzollerns ruled Romania. German houses also ruled Greece and some other countries. Sometimes vacant thrones were offered to German ethnic nobles, sometimes they were just next in line to the throne. What seems to be the real factor in German noble families gaining thrones of European countries? Why is the eventuality of them getting a throne higher than other ethnicities? Why didn't such an event cause resentment in native population? Wouldn't it be more appealing to the common people if their King was one of their own, not someone imported from Germany who would have to learn the language of the country and shape his children to the culture of his subject nation? What were the political motives behind such offers in cases when German candidate was not in line to succession in anyway?


texts: Which "Walker" is Thoreau referring to in "A Plea for Captain John Brown"?

texts:
“If Walker may be considered the representative of the South, I wish I could say that Brown was the representative of the North. He was a superior man.”

  Excerpt From: Henry David Thoreau. A Plea for Captain John Brown.

Who was Walker?


texts: Why was PTSD not written about as much before the 20th century?

texts:
As late as WW1 there was very little literature surrounding PTSD/'shellshock'. In fact, the term was not coined until the 1980's.

Considering the fact that warfare has been a part of human life since time immemorial, why is PTSD only being discussed about now? Did people of earlier eras not suffer PTSD as much since violence and death was a big part of their daily lives?


texts: How many Germans were killed in action in the taking of Paris, 1940?

texts:
Could the following possibly be true? Quote from Andrew Roberts, The Storm of War, 2009, p. 330:

The original quote can be found here:

The Beginning of the Road, by Vasili I. Chuikov, p. 158. (Translated from the Russian by Harold Silver)


texts: Was the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII a public affair?

texts: Was the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII public affair; meaning, was it in any way discussed or reported in the contemporary American media? Did the authorities conduct any explanatory propaganda for the public and the Japanese being interned and relocated? My question is not about the visibility of the relocation. Of course, people could see it and people knew about it. I'm rather interested in finding out if there was any PR and public discussion involved (e.g. aimed at differentiating this from European practices of internment and exile)? If you can point me to some relevant literature on this issue, I'd really appreciate it.


texts: Can anyone identify these three military uniforms?

texts:
Can anyone help identify these 3 uniforms?

I have recently found out they could possibly be American military. The middle man is my great great uncle and sadly I have no other info to go on I’m afraid, so it’s going to be a long haul!

I’ve noticed that bottle in the pocket of the man standing and the cigar in the seated man's mouth on the right.
I only know the standing man was born in Ireland and emigrated to America in the early 1900s.


texts: How did succession in Anglo Saxon England work?

texts:
I heard that the Witan would elect an Ætheling to be King after the previous King died and it typically followed primogeniture. Was primogeniture a requirement for succession or did the Witan have the full authority to choose among any member of the royal family?

For example, when Alfred the Great’s son Edward the Elder was crowned King by the Witan, Æthelwold the son of former King Æthelred claimed the throne. He didn’t get the throne after Æthelred’s death because he was very young so the throne went to Æthelred’s brother Alfred. He led a rebellion against Edward the Elder that got defeated.

The fact that he lead a rebellion indicates that succession was based on primogeniture not by election. So was there a primogeniture based system or was it electoral?


texts:
I came across a Holocaust denier who claims that there is a plaque outside Auschwitz which says that the Nazis murdered 1.5 million people there (mostly Jewish). However, the plaque used to say 4 million in the 1940's, then it was changed several times over the years, citing a lower and lower number of deaths. The man I was talking to claimed that the number of 6 million Jewish deaths in the holocaust is fake, because the 6 million figure has remained the same in the face of these substantial plaque changes (from 4 million to less than 2 million).

I have looked online and found that this is a popular argument among holocaust deniers, but I was' able to find a source debunking this.

What would be the rebuttal to this argument?


texts: Comparison of Ancient Greecian and Egyptian schools and methods of studying to modern day

texts:
I've been watching some documentary that stated that our modern schools are used to make people submit to authority and think in a linear way. Just to make us good workers.

And I wonder - What was the schooling system in ancient times in the major civilizations - Greece and Egypt?
Also, the schooling system in the Middles ages is interesting as well - was it really different from the Middle ages?

Any references to material would be welcome :)

Good day.


texts: Who would attend a coronation in medieval France?

texts:
A coronation event is an event where one would be crowned to be sovereign to a certain land. This was often a significant event, as it is today with event such as the American Inauguration.

But who would attend this ceremony? Could peasants attend?


texts: Why are the signatures on the United States Declaration of Independence structured as they are?

texts:
When looking at the United States Declaration of Independence its easy to notice that John Hancock's signature is more prominent than the others:

From my readings I know John Hancock did sign one of the published copies later, and being the first his was more prominent - and this size difference may be due to the fact it was printed rather than signed.  Some of the other signatures seem grouped such that they might have been signed at different times as well, how were the signatures added to the Declaration and was the printing process involved in their differences and groupings?

Edit**
Some additional information on the Legends that have sprung up around John Hancock's signature


texts: What is meant by "state people" in this context? (Governments of new Balkan states post-WWI)

texts:
I'm reading The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, but since my background is science I find the history a little hard to follow. What is the meaning of state people in the following quote?

[Talking about the creation of new states from the dissolved and demographically complex Austria-Hungary, following the end of WWI.]

  The [Peace Treaties] lumped together many peoples in single states, called
  some of them “state people” and entrusted them with government,
  silently assumed that others (such as Slovaks in Czechoslovakia, or
  the Croats and Slovenes in Yugoslavia) were equal partners, in the
  government, which of course they were not, and with equal arbitrariness created
  out of the remnant a third group of nationalities called 'minorities'[.]

I can assume that by "state people" she means the ethnicities which formed the new governments, but how did that come about? Arendt's phrasing is what trips me up. How much of a say did the Treaties (and the victors) have when it came to who got to be in charge?


texts: To what extent was nonviolence effective in challenging racism (Civil Rights Movement)?

texts:
I am primarily looking for examples of violent protests in the 1960's which failed. I am hoping to find a protest that was a means of self-defense that resulted in more violence. I am trying to prove that non-violent protests is more effective than violent protests. I have already seen one question that is similar, but I need to find a specific event of self-defense that resulted in more violence instead of challenging racism.

I was trying to find an event that I compare to the Montgomery Bus Boycott to show the effectiveness of Non Violence. Currently I have looked at the Black Panther Party because they advocated for self-defense, but I have yet to find a specific protest/event which self defense was used and resulted in more violence.


texts: When did worshipping of ancient Greek gods come to an end?

texts:
The ancient Greeks had their pantheon of gods whose significance vanished with the civilization. Some individual gods entered the belief systems of later cultures, but such mutations are not what I am concerned about here.

I assume that even after the decline of ancient Greece (and the ascent of the Roman Empire) at least some locals in Greece still held on to their old religious practices. On the other hand perhaps nobody in contemporary Greece still worships Zeus and the other ancient gods.

So when did the practice die out? When did the last traces of worshipping of ancient Greek gods vanish from history? What do the sources say?


texts: Did Roosevelt's New Deal lift the U.S. out of the depression or did it actually prolong the Depression and cripple American capitalism?

texts:
While the New Deal did much to lessen the worst affects of the Great
  Depression, its measures were not sweeping enough to restore the
  nation to full employment. Critics of FDR's policies, on both the
  right and the left, use this fact as a reason to condemn it.
  Conservatives argue, for example, that it went too far, and brought
  too much government intervention in the economy, while those on the
  left argue that it did not go far enough, and that in order to be
  truly effective, the Roosevelt Administration should have engaged in a
  far more comprehensive program of direct federal aid to the poor and
  unemployed. But the New Deal's greatest achievements transcend mere
  economic statistics, for in a world where democracy was under siege,
  and the exponents of fascism and communism flourished, the New Deal
  offered hope and restored the faith of the American people in their
  representative institutions. It also transformed the federal
  government into an active instrument of social justice and established
  a network of laws and institutions designed to protect the American
  economy from the worst excesses of liberal capitalism.

(Source)

After reading the partisan piece above and the rest of the article from which it is quoted, I, not having any background of the America's history, feel confused, even after having read the first 5 articles proposed by Google as result of the question title's search.

Question is: Did Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal lift the United States out of the depression or did the New Deal actually prolong the Depression and cripple American capitalism?


texts: Instances of the UN defusing serious crises

texts:
One of the reasons why the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis did not escalate into a war was due to the diplomacy of Adlai Stevenson in the UN. Are there other instances where the defusing of a serious crisis could be attributed to UN diplomacy?

Edit: I'm looking for instances where the defusing of highly tense brink-of-war situations were attributed to actions either directly or indirectly involving the UN.


texts: What family or other connection bound Chiang Kaishek and Cai Yuanpei, two ideological opposites?

texts:
Politically, Nationalist China's Chiang Kaishek must be considered a "strange bedfellow with Cai Yuanpei. Chiang was a disciplined, narrow-minded conservative of the type one might expect from a military man. Cai, a one-time Chancellor of the University of Beijing, was a self-proclaimed revolutionary and a "freethinker" who might be characterized as "progressive," or even "pinko," by American political analysts. More to the point, he recruited and nutured future Communist leaders such as Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhou and Zhou Enlai at the University of Beijing.

Yet, within the divided Nationalist party, Cai was a man that tipped the balance in favor of Chiang Kaishek, by leading the movement to purge Communists (led by Cai's former students) from the Nationalist Party. In 1928, when Chiang set up his Nationalist government, Cai was made President of the Control Yuan (roughly Auditor General), a position created just for him.

As the American son of Chinese immigrant parents, I know that is far more likely in China than in the western world for two people of diametrically opposing ideologies to be allies because of family ties, friendship, or other relationships, a situation known as "guanxi" (which means "connections" or "relationships.") Given the improbability of this co-operation, does anyone know what family or other connection might have bound Chiang and Cai? (My parents were unable to answer this question.)

Hint: One of the the sisters of Madame Chiang Kaishek (that is, Chiang's sister in law) was a Communist aka Madame Sun Yatsen. Could Cai Yuanpei have had a connection to this sister? Something like this could explain Chiang's co-operation with some as far left as Cai.


texts:
Ynocente Garcia, in his recollections (the "Garcia Hechos"), described Ignacio Rochin, a man executed for murder in 1795 in Santa Barbara. Garcia continues: "a young orphan ... was also executed with Rochin for the crime of Sodomy...."

I want to know if this was a unique occurrence. I think criminals were technically supposed to be sent to San Blas or Guadalajara for trial, but that was clearly not as practical as creating justice locally.

How many people were judicially executed by the military establishment of Spanish California?


texts: How close did Germany come to interdicting Soviet oil shipments from the Caucasus in 1942?

texts:
In 1942, the Germans captured a relatively small oil complex at Maikop in the North Caucasus, and got within 25 miles of a larger one at Grozny. But the biggest prize was at Baku, on the "far" (southeast) side of the Trans-Caucasus region, on the Caspian Sea. I'm assuming that the Germans could not have captured it in 1942, and only with great difficulty thereafter.

Historians like William L. Shirer in "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" believed that the Germans could have interdicted Soviet oil shipments from the south by getting a firm grip on Stalingrad, and choking off transportation in the Volga River, and for some miles beyond.

With regard to the first issue, how close would the Germans have had to approach Baku to be able to interdict the oil from the source by bombing, and how far were they from this hypothetical point in the Caucasus?

With regard to the second, were there viable alternate north-south routes to the Volga, or could one have been built? If the Germans controlled Stalingrad, could this have been bypassed by "night runs" to avoid bombing?


texts: Why didn't Imperial Japan attack the Soviet Union during World War 2?

texts: Japan and the Soviet Union shared a common border in Manchuria and the German invasion of the Soviet Union weakened the Soviets greatly. In view of the advantages to Japan in seeing the Soviet Union defeated (not to mention the resources available in Siberia) and the fact that Japan had large Kwantung Army stationed there essentially doing nothing, why didn't Japan attack?


texts: Were there any ancient cultures that accepted homosexuality?

texts:
Original question was this:

Were there any ancient cultures (say more than 500 years old) that were accepting of open or partially open homosexuality in either men or women? For the purposes of this question, I don't count pedophilia.

Reworded question:

I see from the answers that pedophilia can't be completely separated from ancient concepts of sexuality. Sex with children was not considered a sexual orientation, it appears. A more relevant concept was the role that a person took in the relationship (or possibly sex act), with children or slaves of either gender considered the more passive role, or the younger man was more passive, or a freeman was the more active role, and so forth. If anyone would like to amplify or clarify that, feel free.


texts: Identification of a treacherous general of 17th century China

texts:
My aunt is part of an informal discussion group interested in the history of China. Apparently, during the Ming dynasty in the 1600s, there was a general  whose treachery (I the charge was he was aiding the enemy, somehow. My aunt claims it was the Mongolians.) resulted in the ordered executions of him, and all members of ten related families under him. I believe he was based in Fujian.

The distinguishing detail is that since the general was of noble blood, the Portuguese actually helped him and the ten families escape to southern China to avoid execution.

Does this description match any known historical figure in China? If so, is there a more detailed resource on him?

I am interested because the family history claims that my maternal grandfather's mother was descended from one of these ten families, and explains why her family was decently well off in late 1800s Guangdong.


texts: How can there be a "final edition" of a morning paper, in the morning?

texts:
A US television episode from 1957 has the following scene, set in a hotel restaurant in what is clearly the morning, as he is eating breakfast and it looks brightly lit:

  Person: "The morning paper, Sir."

  Man at table: "Is that the final edition?"

  Person: "Yes, Sir."

  Man at table: "Thank you."

How can a "morning paper" be out in a "final edition" when the time is clearly early in the day?

Do I not understand what a "morning paper" is? I assume that the people who make such a newspaper must be working during the night and sleep/be at home during the day, since otherwise they can't very well produce a morning paper in time, but they are talking about the "final edition" already. How is that possible?

A morning paper supposedly comes out in time for... the morning. How quickly do they make updates if there is at least two editions already published and distributed by the time the man eats breakfast and is given the "final edition" of the alleged "morning paper"?

Is the first edition published extremely early, before most people are awake? Is that the answer?


texts: What role if any did Ligachev play in the 1991 coup attempt against Gorbachev?

texts:
Ligachev was the head of the we-love-Brezhnevism club in the last days of the Soviet Union. Was he at all involved in the bring-back-Brezhnevism coup in 1991? If not, what did he do and say in that period?

Edit: their main target may have been Yeltsin, but they locked up Gorbachev in his dacha and appointed a new 'acting President'. That sounds like it's against Gorbachev to me but I suppose that's a matter of opinion.


texts: Why did Stalin deem Quantum Mechanics 'counter-revolutionary'?

texts:
I've read that in the late 1940s Stalin planned to hold a conference to discuss the ideological difficulties of physics in the Soviet Union, but called it off (presumably because of the successful Soviet atomic bomb test). I understand that there would have been difficulties with things like history, economics and genetics which dealt directly with the past, present and future of the Soviet Union and its people, but what was the logic behind attempting to curtail some of the more esoteric disciplines (Physics, Linguistics)?

Evidence from the Russian wikipedia article "Ideological control in Soviet Science\Physics":

  В конце 1940-х годов некоторые физические теории, в частности
  Копенгагенская интерпретация квантовой механики, а также специальная и
  общая теория относительности, были также подвержены критике по причине
  «идеалистичности»[15]. Советские физики, такие, как К. В. Никольский,
  Д. И. Блохинцев, разработали версию Статистической интерпретации
  квантовой механики, которая рассматривалась как более соответствующая
  принципами диалектического материализма[16][17][18].

  Однако, несмотря на то, что это первоначально планировалось[6][19],
  этот процесс не зашел так далеко, как определял «идеологически
  правильный» вариант физики.

  В конце 1948 года началась подготовка Всесоюзного совещания заведующих
  кафедрами физики, назначенного на 21 марта 1949 года, с целью
  исправления якобы имевших место упущений в физике.[20][21] Был выпущен
  сборник статей «Против идеализма в современной физике», в котором
  подверглись критике советские последователи идей Альберта
  Эйнштейна.[20][21] Выдвигались предложения разгромить в физике
  «эйнштейнианство».[21]

Google translate (slightly edited):

  In the late 1940s, some of the physical theory, in particular the
  Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, as well as special and
  general theories of relativity, were also subject to criticism because
  they were deemed "idealistic" [15]. Soviet physicists, such as KV Nikolsky
  DIBlokhintsev developed a version of the statistical interpretation of
  quantum mechanics, which was regarded as more conforming to theprinciples of
  dialectical materialism [16] [17] [18].

  However, despite the fact that it was originally planned [6] [19],
  this process has not gone as far as defining "ideologically correct"
  version of physics.

  In late 1948, preparations began for the All-Union meeting of heads of
  departments of physics, scheduled for March 21, 1949, with the aim of
  correcting the alleged deficiencies in physics. [20] [21] was released
  collection of essays "Against idealism in modern physics", which
  criticized the Soviet followers of the ideas of Albert Einstein. [20]
  [21] Proposals were put forward to crush "Einsteinianism" in physics. [21]


texts: Where is (or was) Project HARP's Yuma Arizona space gun?

texts:
I found myself reading about Project HARP, the High Altitude Research Project, which was a project funded to explore the possibility of creating high speed guns that could essentially replace certain types of rockets. In 1966, the third and final gun was constructed in Yuma, Arizona.

I am an hour away from Yuma Arizona for the next few days. Is the gun still there? Where was it?


texts: Why did modern "Romania" remain the most "Roman" part of the Balkans?

texts:
The so-called "Romanians" are the Vlachs who inhabited the territory just north of the Danube in Roman times, and today. Wallachia (home of the Vlachs), represented the outer limit or Roman expansion. The name of their country, Romania, is a take-off on Roman, and their language is recognizably derived from Latin. In these regards, Romania is the most "Latin" country in the Balkans, and in fact outside of Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.

During the Middle Ages, Romanian territory was crossed by the Magyars from modern Russia, on their way to Hungary, and Bulgars on their way to modern Bulgaria. Afterward, the Romanians were subjects of Turkey. The Vlachs were unable to repel any of these people, yet they were not crushed or absorbed by them.

How did the Vlachs manage to retain a semblance of "Romaness" when surrounding areas such as Bulgaria, Greece and Yugoslavia did not? And maybe the related question is what caused them to be more "Roman" in the first place than their neighbors?


texts: Why Americans like to enroll in military services despite huge risks involved?

texts:
Working in US military is one of the riskiest jobs in America because of the regular engagement in battles compared to other military in the world.

I live in a third-world country. Even in my country, military services are considered last resorts for job-seekers.

Being one of the sensible and educated societies in the world, why Americans enroll in Military services?

I know, military services in the USA provide huge salary and benefits, but, isn't being alive more important?


texts: Which mountain collapsed in France in 1820/21?

texts:
In his commentary on Job 28:7, Rabbi Meir Leibush Malbim (1809-1879) writes (my translation):

In 5581 (1820/21) a tall mountain in France collapsed, and left behind a deep chasm full of water. This was caused by a water channel that originated in a spring at the top of the mountain and emptied into a subterranean cavity under it...

(and goes on to explain the fluid dynamics involved).
What mountain was that? (It's of course possible that the date was transcribed wrongly, so it may have actually occurred in some other year around that time. But searching using various terms hasn't gotten me anywhere.)


texts: Did S. Korea choose petroleum refining as part of WW2 reconstruction?

texts:
I just noticed (on Wikipedia) that S. Korea has 3 and the 6 largest oil refineries in the world. That does not make sense. So, was exporting the derivatives of crude oil (gasoline / kerosene / jet fuel / etc) part of their centrally-planned economic reconstruction strategy after ww2??

I mean, Korea copied the Japanese success in exporting autos and consumer electronics. But, did Korea centrally-plan to also export oil derivatives as part of their economic recovery from the devastation of ww2?


texts: How did Adam Worth make sure his crooks didn't keep what they stole?

texts:
I'm currently reading through the The Life and Times of Adam Worth and as much as I'm fascinated by Adam Worth and his mastermind for 19th century crime, there is one thing that the book fails to mention:

How did he stop his crooks from keeping most of the loot they stole?

This question extends to all organised crime and mafias in general, how does the leader prevent his "employees" from just keeping most of what they steal.

When they are dealing with financial bonds or stolen goods, I understand that the boss has the contacts to resell them. But say the crooks go safe cracking and steal money, what is stopping them from keeping it and running off or just officially declaring that they only found 10% of what they actually got ?

Adam Worth was known to having a very strict rule of no harm to anyone, so I struggle to see how he could achieve such loyalty without instilling fear into his crooks

Are there any historical examples and explanations of how this was ensured ? Do you have any sources I could read up on to further my understanding of the inner workings of organised crime ?


texts: What kind of book is "Evangelium de transitu Mariae"?

texts:
The heir to the throne only appears in a book closely related to the
  Acts, the Evangelium de transitu Mariae, under the name Abdan, a short
  form of Abdagases, as the coins call him. Source

What kind of book is this? Have it published yet? To which century does it belong? Any further information?


texts: Did Imperial Japan choose to ally with Nazi Germany because of ideological similarity?

texts:
There are certain similarities that can be drawn between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Both were dictatorships, both believed in racism (though against different people), and both were wanting to invade nearby countries out of self-interest. But that could describe a lot of countries, past and present, Axis members and non-members.

Did ideological similarity play a role in Imperial Japan's decision to ally with Nazi Germany?


texts: Was the site of Rome and Constantinople chosen for featuring "seven hills"?

texts:
Both Rome and Constantinople were located on seven so-called hills. Rome was capital of the Roman state, and maintained that status into the imperial era; Constantinople was founded as a new capital.

Could there be a reason why Rome and later Constantinople were both founded on sites with seven hills? Did seven hills carry any particular significance to the Ancient Romans, perhaps in their mythology or religious beliefs? Or was it just a coincidence?


texts: What is the largest number of battles that took place in the same place in the same war?

texts:
I have been reading about the 12 battles of the Isonzo river during world-war-one.

I believe it is an extreme statistic to have 12 battles in the same place during the same war.

Are there any instances of there being more battles in the same place during the same war than the 12 battles of the Isonzo river?


texts: What factors contributed to the rise of national monarchies in the high middle ages?

texts:
I'd be the first to admit that I don't exactly know much about this topic and the initial research I've done on it has simply led to greater confusion. My current understanding (which I'm pretty sure is wrong) lies around the thought that feudalism was in decline due to the changing nature of Europing becoming more "centralized" and needing less fragmentation.

What I said above should've hinted that my knowledge is extremely flaky so if possible use pleb terminology. :)


texts: Was the ancient Pontic city of Athenai (Ἀθῆναι) related to Athens?

texts:
The city of Athenai (Ἀθῆναι, modern Pazar, Turkey), in some contexts referred to as Pontic Athens, situated on the Pontic shore about halfway between Trapezus (modern Trabzon, Turkey) and Bathys Limen (modern Batumi, Georgia).

The settlement was testified by classical and medieval authors including Arrian, Procopius, and Stephanos Byzantinos; the origin of its name, however, was less clear. Procopius wrote in Wars (VIII, ii, 10-11) that:

  And there is a certain village there named Athenae, not, as some
  suppose, because colonists from Athens settled there, but because a
  certain woman named Athenaea in early times ruled over the land, and
  the tomb of this woman is there even to my day.

The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos (Dumbarton Oaks, 1985) mentions another interpretation (p. 335-6):

  In fact, as Allen points out, Athenai may well be derived, like so
  many place names of this area which begin with A-, from a Laz word - in
  this case a word meaning "the place where there is shade." There is
  indeed another medieval site called Aténi in Georgia proper. By the
  same token, Rhizaion may be "the place where people (or soldiers)
  meet," and Mapavri suggests "leafy."

Some sources, such as an article found on Turkish Wikipedia, also suggest a Milesian foundation, but so far I've found no textual references in support of this theory (although it is worth pointing out that this was historically possible given the strong presence of Milesians in the region). Additionally, settlements along the Pontic coast were frequently relocated during Hellenistic period, and population exchanges were not uncommon. So far, no conclusive evidences for a Milesian origin have been discovered.

I would like to know if any new research has been done on this topic, and what - if any connections the site had with Athens, either directly or indirectly. Much thanks in advance.


texts: Why were Red Army Officers and soldiers not prosecuted for War Crimes in WWII?

texts:
Recently I read Antony Beevor's Berlin The Downfall:1945. The author has described wanton acts of looting, murder, arson and rape in the so-called liberated areas from German Occupation in Eastern-Central Europe - which after WWII was the Communist Bloc.

The behaviour of the Red Army Soldiers, NKVD and SMERSH was not much different from the behaviour of Wehrmacht, SS and Gestapo.

While Nuremberg Trials tried the war crimes of Germany and its allies, why were the war crimes of Allied Forces not tried?

This may be marked as duplicate of the question "What other war crimes trials, besides those of Nazi war criminals, were held after WWII?" or similar questions, but it is specific to Red Army since basically both Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia were birds of the same feather though at opposite ends of the spectrum.

This is my first question on the History site. In case of some discrepancies the question may be properly edited to be acceptable.


texts: Why do all my history books divide Chinese history after the Han dynasty?

texts:
I will be teaching middle school World History this year. I surveyed seven different textbooks from different publishers and notice, unlike all other histories of other regions in the world, Chinese history is covered in two different parts of the books, e.g.:

Chapter 22-25: Chinese ancient times to the Han dynasty.

Chapter 26-35: Ancient Greece, Classical Greece, Roman Republic, Roman Empire, various Islamic kingdoms, and various African Empires.

Chapter 36-38: Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

Remaining chapters: Medieval Europe.

Since this split appears in all of the textbooks, there must be some significance for splitting the history there. What is the likely logic behind dividing Chinese history at the Han dynasty?


texts: Is there a historical basis for the "day of the false King" described in The Egyptian?

texts:
In Book 6 of Mika Waltari's historical novel The Egyptian, Kaptah, Sinuhe's slave and companion, ascends to the throne of Babylon for a day:

I was by now familiar with many customs in Babylon, yet I was astonished to see the King’s bodyguard before dawn on that day crowding drunkenly into Ishtar’s House of Joy, breaking open the doors and striking everyone they met with the butts of their spears as they shouted at the tops of their voices:
“Where is our king hiding? Bring him forth speedily, for the sun is about to rise, and the king must dispense justice to his people!”
...
But when they had had enough of mockery, they released me, saying, “Waste no more of our time but deliver to us your servant, for we must bring him to the palace with all speed, today being the Day of the False King. It is the King’s will that we hasten to the palace with the man.”
When Kaptah heard this, he was so terrified that he began to tremble and shake the whole bed so that they found him and, dragging him forth with jubilation, made deep obeisance before him.
They said to one another, “This is a day of great rejoicing, for at last we have found our king who had hidden himself and disappeared from our sight. Our eyes are gladdened by him, and we hope he will reward our fidelity with many gifts.”
Waltari, M., & Walford, N. (2002). The Egyptian: A novel. Chicago: Chicago Review Press.

Wikipedia claims the event has "its basis on reality", and points to Rajala's Unio mystica: Mika Waltarin elämä ja teokset for evidence. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a translation and cannot verify the claim.
Help?

The "day of the False King" appears to be central in Brad Geagley's novel Day of the False King, and the novel's Goodreads description also claims that it has a historical basis:

As in "Year of the Hyenas," most of the events and characters in "Day of the False King" are drawn from history. The Elamite invader King Kutir and the native-born Marduk truly vied for the throne of Babylonia. There really was a festival called "Day of the False King," when the entire world turned upside down for a day, when slaves ruled as masters, when the most foolish man in Babylon was chosen to become king. Semerket the detective is plunged into the midst of these events in pursuit of his own goals: to serve his Pharaoh and to find the woman he loves.


texts: Why did South Korea (and the UN) accept an armistice line that put Seoul in artillery range of North Korea?

texts:
In 2017, the main threat that North Korea poses to South Korea (aside from the nuclear weapons) is that Seoul is within range of North Korean artillery. For instance (from an article in The Atlantic):

  One high-ranking U.S. military officer who commanded forces in the Korean theater, now retired, told me he’d heard estimates that if a grid were laid across Seoul dividing it into three-square-foot blocks, these guns could, within hours, “pepper every single one.”

I believe that long-range artillery predates the Korean War. This makes me wonder, why did South Korea (and the international military forces) consider this an acceptable situation? Why would they leave the capital city exposed like that? (Was the military cost of gaining further territory too high?)


texts: What education path had to be followed to study law in 17th century Europe?

texts:
How was the path in terms of education for a small kid to follow in years so that he can become a LAWYER in 17th Century in Europe? (Mainly in The Holy Roman Empire).

Thanks!


texts: What ship is this and which military campaign?

texts:
On back of card, Army Transport USS Maricu - life on board - nothing to do. I can not find any information on this ship. Is it WWI or WWII?

The reverse of the card is shown below:


texts: What was considered utility clothing before WW2?

texts:
The term Utility Clothing became associated with Britain's Utility Scheme during WW2.
However, apparently such a "utility" in fashion seems to have been known even before this time.
I came across an article entitled Utility Futility, which expands upon the word Utility and its associated negative fashion meanings which were present before the commissioning of the 1941 scheme.
Here is a relevant excerpt from that article (bold is mine):

Why was “Utility” such an inadequate label? First, it had been used in the clothing industry before to describe a type of heavy-duty garment designed to weather tough use, the equivalent of what consumers today might think of as blue-collar “work clothes.” It appeared with relative frequency in advertisements for coats and jackets well before the Utility scheme’s conception, proving that consumers already had a preexisting idea in mind when they heard the word “Utility,” an idea contrary to the reality of Utility scheme clothes35 […] “Utility” made consumers picture drab, unflattering jumpsuits.

The first verdict came in February 1942, when the Drapers’ Record, a prominent journal for clothiers and other sectors of the clothing industry, released one of the earliest articles surveying women’s initial receptions of the Utility scheme. The article began by pointing out that since Utility had yet to make a significant appearance in stores, many of the women interviewed based their opinions solely on their impressions of the word “Utility,” rather than on firsthand experience. One interviewee commented that “Utility” made her think of a uniform – “government stuff, sackcloth.” Another interviewee worried Utility clothing would be “clumsy and heavy.” Still another expected colors to be “dark and uninteresting.” The reporter even added that these three women had not heard about the scheme before being interviewed about it, further demonstrating the power of the word “Utility” to produce negative first impressions of the entire project.

Are there online first-hand resources regarding such clothings deemed to be like these 'utility clothings' later (e.g., pictures or illustrations of such "utility clothings" from that time)?
The article does refer to a Vogue advertisement of that time of interest:

35 Advertisement for Allama “Utility” coats. Vogue, February 1939, p. 29.

But there's no such an advertisement in both February 1 and February 15 issues' page 29 (nor some other page, to the best I could see).


texts: Why was the Irish War of Independence in 1918 successful when other revolts failed?

texts: In a nutshell, what events, occurrences, or mishaps took place that allowed the Irish to win the war of Independence over what could arguably be the most powerful nation of the time, when they were unsuccessful in their multitude of attempts previously?


texts: Why did Herzl's attempt to come to a political agreement with the Ottoman rulers of Palestine fail?

texts: Theodor Herzl, who founded Zionism as a modern political movement in 1897, attempted to come to a political agreement with the Ottoman rulers of Palestine. When was this, what was his proposal and why did it fail?


texts: Can anyone identify this uniform? Is it from Sweden or USA?

texts:
I have 2 photos of my husband's grandfather Edwin Albin (1884-1962) that were taken in Minnesota in 1906. I’m hoping to find out more about the uniform Albin is wearing.   Albin's father Claus August Swanson (1844–1909) emigrated from Sweden to the USA in 1869. We are not sure if the uniform belonged to Claus and he brought it here from Sweden.
Any help identifying this uniform is great appreciated.

Claus August Swanson, 1844 - 1909 Claus föddes på dag månad 1844, i födelseort, till Sven Svensson och Johanna Svensson. Sven föddes på 26 juli 1796, i Gustaf Adolf, Skaraborg Johanna föddes på 12 januari 1801, i Habo, Gustaf Adolf, Skaraborg, Claus döptes på dag månad 1844, i dopplats. Han hade 6 syskon: Anna Stina Svensdotter, Carl Gustaf Svensson och 4 andra syskon. Claus gifte sig med Maja Stina Swanson. Maja föddes på 19 maj 1845, i Simmestorp, Travad, Skaraborg, De hade 2 barn: alvin swanson och ett annat barn. Claus avled på dag månad 1909, vid 65 år i döds plats, Minnesota.


texts: How did the Chinese Self-Criticism work in practice?

texts:
During the Maoist era often "enemies" were put through "self-criticisms" where they needed to note where they were in error and how they strayed from the party.  I've seen multiple records of this in Chinese History books and read some on the practice in some of my sources but would like something in more detail.  I'd like more detail in how these were put into practice, how they were done and what the process was like around it.

Are there any sources or books out there that go into how the self-criticisms worked in China?  Were these recorded anywhere and maybe transcribed into larger works?  If possible I'd like to see what one of these criticisms entailed, if its been recorded and published in any work.


texts: What flag is similar to the American flag, but has only 9 stars and 13 vertical stripes?

texts:
I saw a flag walking around my neighborhood similar to an American flag but I don't recognize it. It had nine white stars in a grid on a blue background in the top left corner, the rest of the flag was taken up by thirteen red and white alternating vertical stripes. What is this?

I'd like to know what the history behind this particular rendition of the flag is, I've done some research, but I'm not a historian and am not sure where to start. It's possible this is a one-off that this person saw somewhere and decided to fly outside his house, but if not it'd be nice to know what he's attempting to signify with the flag.


texts: Why did the Protestants in Ireland in the 1800s not want Home Rule?

texts: I know there was conflict between Protestants and Roman Catholic nationalists due to their difference of opinion on Home Rule, but why would the protestants in Ulster and conservative party want to coalesce with England? They weren't exactly 'gaining' anything from it. Did they come from England?


texts: Why is Jiagedaqi part of Heilongjiang despite being inside Inner Mongolia?

texts: Why is the Jiagedaqi (or Jagdaqi) District under the jurisdiction of Heilongjiang Province even though it lies entirely within Inner Mongolia? What is the history of this arrangement?


texts: Did generals really fight in ancient China?

texts:
When we think of generals, we usually think of someone that leads. We don't see General MacArthur charge in front of his soldiers to personally slaughter thousands of regular troops. In fact, even one regular soldier probably has more dexterity, shooting skills, and can fight better than a typical general.

Yet The Romance of the Three Kingdoms describes generals like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun performing personal combat and killing thousands.

What's going on?

Did people like Wei Yan and Yan Liang become generals because they really were Bruce Lee or because they knew how to command troops?


texts: Were there restrictions on German refugees entering the US during World War II?

texts:
It is known that many Germans (especially Jews) migrated to the US during WW2.

Now, I was wondering about the formal requirements for refugees to be admitted into the US at that time. Was any German citizen able to move to the US or were there severe restrictions?


texts: In 1700-1850 warfare, would infantry still march in formation while retreating?

texts:
At the 31:20 juncture of Episode 20 in total  (Episode 10 of Season 2) of the AMC TV show Turn, because the British infantry march slowly in formation (rather than running) to leave the battlefield at the Battle of Monmouth, several soldiers needlessly perish after easily being targeted and shot with muskets of the Continental Army soldiers, but who cease fire after 1 or 2 minutes after the British start leaving. This TV has been adjudged historically inaccurate; so is the above accurate?

If so, is not marching under retreat stupid, unreasonable? Did the importance of formation and order outweigh the value of human life?


texts: Were there any Austrians in Nazi Germany's government before the Anschluss?

texts:
Apart from Adolf Hitler himself, who was born in Braunau am Inn in what is now Upper Austria, were there any Austrians in the upper echelons of the German Nazi party or Germany's Nazi government before the Anschluss of 1938?
A quick skim through the list of Hitler's cabinet ministers up to 1938 doesn't reveal anyone born in Austria.  But perhaps there were other, slightly lower-ranking Austrian-born Nazis who nonetheless wielded some appreciable degree of political power.
Note that I'm not asking about prominent Austrians who may have served in the German military (unless they also held some important party or political post), nor am I asking about anyone who rose to power or fame only during or after the Anschluss.  So this would exclude, for example, Otto Skorzeny, who was more important as a soldier than as a party member, and in any case was not a notable personage until the Anschluss began.


texts: What is meant by the Pan-India Character during the Mauryan Empire at the time of Chandagupta Maurya ?


texts: Were mounted soldiers really an advancement during the Middle Ages?

texts:
While reading Charles Oman's "A History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages" it occurred to me that horses and a kind of knight were always available to the Roman Empire, and nevertheless the legions were mostly composed  of infantry. He even says that the highest ratio that horseback soldiers had compared to infantry at any given time was 1/6, and that normally it didn't surpass 1/12. After this, the author proceeds to highlight that cavalry was a major advance in the art of war after the Roman Empire, and that mounted knights always won battles against infantry. This created my doubt: if horsemen were so superior in battle why were the legions composed mostly of infantry?

Something that Oman says is that after the Roman Empire there were mounted archers instead of mounted infantry. Was that the 'major advancement' in military technique?

As the book was written in 1885 maybe some of the information may be outdated and today we may have a different vision. If so, what did we discover in this matter since 1885?


texts: Were there any other systems which resemble the complex election procedure for the doge of Venice

texts:
I was fascinated by a passage in Thomas F. Madden's Venice: a New History describing the complex process used to elect the doge of Venice. This process is explained briefly here:

Wikipedia: Doge of Venice - Selection of the Doge

  Thirty members of the Great Council, chosen by lot, were reduced by lot to nine; the nine chose forty and the forty were reduced by lot to twelve, who chose twenty-five. The twenty-five were reduced by lot to nine and the nine elected forty-five. Then the forty-five were once more reduced by lot to eleven, and the eleven finally chose the forty-one who actually elected the doge. None could be elected but by at least twenty-five votes out of forty-one, nine votes out of eleven or twelve, or seven votes out of nine electors

This passage does not include some elements of the proces mentioned by Madden, such as the interesting presentation and voting on the nominations for doge by the final 41, the automatic exclusion of relations from remaining draws once someone is chosen by the lot, or the use of small wax balls with parchment inside for the lot drawing process.

There is also more detail in a paper cited in the Wikipedia posting found here:

Electing the Doge of Venice: analysis of a 13th Century protocol (PDF)

My question is whether the Venetian system inspired similar systems in other states or political bodies (let us say, before the 19th century) or were there other similar multi-stage selection processes for positions in other contemporary or early cases?

Here by cases, let us be flexible, as there are not a lot of republics etc. around. It might include voting process for council positions, guild leadership, etc. I especially welcome well-sourced answers.


texts: Medieval ransom taking was big- people were taken of all types of social standing for wide ranges of payments for their release- virtually a business. Did the business have agents who provide various services including taking care of the ransomed person and handling the payments?


texts: What are the height units of contours on this WW2 topographic map?

texts:
What are the units seen on the contours and spot heights of this WW2 topographic map? I'm not sure if the map is of Russian or German origin: I've seen the same style and map symbols on Russian army maps and German army maps (they are often the same apart from transliteration between latin and cyrillic alphabets). Although this particular map was certainly used by the German army - there are annotations in German on it of military relevance.

The major contours (every 5th contour line) are labelled as 137, 154, 171. The spot heights show as e.g. 166,6 (comma being used as the decimal seperator in German, for instance) make me suspect that that it is 166.6 meters, but obviously the contour heights would be rather peverse in that case - each line is 3.4 meters. So presumably the original contours are based on some other unit system.

Are the numbers here in meters? And what units have been used when the map was originally created?


texts: What pre-industrial battle used a tactic to split the enemy force in the middle in this way?

texts:
I remember watching a video on a pre-industrial battle (maybe even pre musket, but not sure) on a unique battle technique.  Cavalry was involved, as well as slingshot and infantry. For some reason my mind is associating it with Napoleon, but I could be wrong.  I drew a few pictures to give you an idea.
The basic formation was like such:

The RED army had cavalry and foot solders.  The goal is to split the WHITE army in two to more easily defeat it, so the RED army pulls half the WHITE army to the left simply by moving leftward:

During the entire time the RED army is moving his cavalry, behind the cavalry units are solders on foot using slingshots to attack/annoy the WHITE army.  As you can see, the WHITE army is tricked, and I think that the WHITE has little cavalry that follows RED, which means the bulk of WHITE are on foot and slower.  The next step is the genius part:

The RED army uses the speed of it's cavalry to backtrack and destroy the stationary units of the WHITE army.  Meanwhile, the RED army's foot soldiers that were behind the cavalry keep the leftward WHITE units busy (and I think because the WHITE are on foot they can't keep pace with the RED if they wanted to).
I remember that this is was considered on of the greatest battles moves according to the narrator.
Do you have any idea what battle this is?


texts: Were the Pechenegs at some point Manicheans?

texts:
I've seen it hinted in some places the Pechenegs were at some point Manicheans, often contrasting against the Bogomils in the Balkans, Paulicians in Armenia and other Manicheans in Central Asia, notably the Uyghurs.

Is there any source for this claim? Or is it one of those situations historians used refer to people by what they think is an analogue, like calling Pechenegs 'Scythians', for example, common among medieval historians.


texts: What was the ratio of people who were atheist prior to the French revolution or who adopted atheism as a result of the Cult of Reason?

texts: I'm interested in the way the French people reacted to the religious policies during the French revolution, i. e. dechristianization and establishment of the Cult of Reason. Are there any estimates what was the religious composition of the French before and after the installment of these policies?


texts: Did the US threaten a nuclear strike to defend Israel in 1973?

texts:
Did the US threaten a nuclear strike to defend Israel?

In 1973, America and Russia Almost Fought a Nuclear War over Syria

  Soviet leaders were shocked by the American response. "Who could have
  imagined the Americans would be so easily frightened?” asked Soviet
  premier Nikolai Podgorny, according to Rabinovich in his book The Yom
  Kippur War. Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin said "it is not reasonable
  to become engaged in a war with the United States because of Egypt and
  Syria,” while KGB chief Yuri Andropov vowed "we shall not unleash the
  Third World War.”

  Whatever the reason, the Soviet kept their forces on alert, but agreed
  not to dispatch troops to the Middle East. By the end of October, a
  tenuous ceasefire put an end to that chapter of the Arab-Israeli
  conflict.


texts: Did Britain send convicts to Canada during the colonial era?

texts: During the colonial era before the American War of Independence, Britain sent convicts to its North American colonies which eventually became the USA, but did Britain also send convicts to those colonies which became Canada?


texts: Where can I find a map or list of 19th century European watermills?

texts:
I am looking for a map or list of 19. century watermills.
I have found this Hungarian Wikipedia page, which contains many historical watermills, but only within the current or historic territory of Hungary. This article in English is very limited in scope.
Is there an accessible map / list which contains 19. century watermills?


texts: Did the MDC draw support from former ZAPU voters and politicians?

texts: In the late 80s, Joshua Nkomo's former organisation ZAPU was taken over by Mugabe's ZANU. Did the MDC draw any former ZAPU politicians in? Did it draw support from the same ethnic groups and areas in elections?


texts: Why did the US give up the portion of Vancouver island below the 49th parallel but insist on keeping Point Roberts?

texts:
Point Roberts remained US territory because the Americans insisted on maintaining the strictest interpretation of the Treaty of Oregon, even though it was pretty much useless being a tiny exclave. But at the same time the US generously conceded the southern part of Vancouver island to Canada.

What was the reasoning behind this?


texts: Pre-Islamic cultural inheritance in contemporary Iran

texts:
In contemporary Iran, what are the effect of pre-Islamic Persian cultural heritage that are not linked to Islamic culture, religion and literature?

In a previous question, I asked about Zoroastrianism. This question is more general.


texts: How did the Filipinos lose the Philippine-American War?

texts:
The Americans were fighting a war thousands of miles away from their country, against the Filipinos who just won a war of independence against Spain. Change the Filipinos to Vietnamese and Spain to France and this would sound like the Vietnam War.

What went wrong with the Filipino war effort?

As I've read, at least the US had half the country when it fought the Vietnam War. Contrast that to the Philippine-American War when the US started the fight from just a foothold in Manila.


texts: Are there confirmed cases where a country changed its language without being conquered?

texts:
I thought about this question and wondered: Are there any known cases where a country switched to a different language other than because of being conquered? If some country ever did this I would be very interested in how exactly they implemented it.

What I could come up with:

Mongols that conquered China and to some extent Germanic tribes that conquered Rome took over the language of the country they conquered. But they simply assimilated with the native population, they didn't bring the new language back to their home country.
Danish used to be the language of the Norwegian upper-class. However, it was when Norway was in a union with Denmark, so essentially they were the same country. And Danish was the official language of that country while Norwegian wasn't (not that any of the Norwegian dialects was ever accepted to be the Norwegian language).
Hebrew in the modern Israel is essentially an artificial language. However, it was created to have a common language where previously was none, the Jews who came to Israel spoke many different languages. So it's not like the whole country switched from one language to another. Of course, many other countries went through a similar (even though less radical process), e.g. the modern German (High German) is only one of the many dialects that existed in Germany (and some still exist).

So Japan considered having the whole country switch to English. Did any country actually do something like this?