texts: Did airports have security checks before the 1970s?

texts:
I just accidentally discovered a few pictures on the web, that seem to imply, that there were some sort of airport security checks on passengers all the way back in the 1960s. It was always my general understanding that airport security screening was not a thing before the Hague and Montreal conventions in the early seventies and the various national regulations that followed, so I was really quite surprised about the photos, but I have a suspicion that they could be dated incorrectly or the descriptions might be wrong.

For example, here is a press article photo, of what apparently is an early metal detector.

The description on the back of it clearly says that this device is to replace searching of passengers at the airport. Does that mean that all the passengers boarding aircraft were searched in some other way before that?

Here is another picture that left me puzzled.

It seems to have been taken at Zurich Kloten airport, with passengers queuing for some booths where they will be "inquired on weapons". What does that mean, what is happening inside those things? Was there some kind of security procedure, exclusive to Swissair flights, or to the Swiss airports? If such a thing existed, when did they drop that, in favor of the normal screening? Those "ladies" and "gentlemen" signs look really weird...

And one more picture.

The uploader claims they found it on the Atlanta airport website, which then claimed this was a test of some airport security machine as early as the year 1960! I mean that was before the first hijacking of a commercial flight in the US, if I am not mistaken! I think this one could probably be fake or a joke, or just something irrelevant to airport security. I do not think I see any electronic equipment here except for the data logger in the front, yet judging by the way the people are dressed this seems to be taken in the sixties, even though I am no fashion expert. The picture is circulating in the web with this description, but I could not find any more information on it. And that just makes me even more interested to know what is actually happening there.

If anyone knows what these things are all about, and how it used to work back then, I would absolutely love to hear that. So any explanations strongly appreciated! Thank You!


texts: Thirteen "colonies", "provinces", "states", etc.?

texts: One often hears of "the thirteen colonies", and of course the colonies were also called "provinces".  Were they also sometimes called "states" before the Continental Congress convened?


texts: How was the 1849 "Proclamation to the People of California" announcing the formation of a Constitution communicated to the people?

texts:
The images below appear to be an official copy of the 1849 Proclamation to the People of California announcing the formation of a Constitution. It is signed by Secretary of State Captain H.W. Halleck (his signature can be compared with his signature on this letter that he wrote to William Hartnell).
How would this proclamation have been communicated to all the people in California?
(There is a Spanish version also here - page 1 and here - page 2).

The above documents form part of the Vallejo Family Papers Collection  reference BANC MSS C-B 441 at The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.


texts: What Insubordination Did Colonel Sanders Do With Prudential Life Insurance?

texts:
I've been recently somewhat inspired by the story of Colonel Sanders, someone who experienced failure after failure and moved from job to job over his life, eventually going on to found Kentucky Fried Chicken, one of the largest fast food chains in the USA.

Many of these stories I read online (such as Wikipedia and numerous other sites) mention that in one particular job for Prudential Life Insurance he was fired for insubordination.

I have been searching around various websites, but haven't been able to find any further information. Does anyone know what exactly he did to get fired?

I'm interested to know if perhaps there was a moral reason he may have been insubordinate or something more to this story.


texts: Did Russian winter seriously contribute to German defeat on the Eastern Front in WWII?

texts:
When people discuss the causes of Hitler's defeat in Russia, one topic is frequently mentioned: climate. People claim that winter contributed significantly to the problems of German army on the Eastern front.

However, to me this argument looks naive. Germany is big and several parts of it are affected by cold climate as much as Russia.

Justification: Here are the average temperatures in Berlin:

December: 1 °C (34 °F)
January: -1 °C (30 °F)
February: 1 °C (34 °F)

Here are the average temperatures of Moscow:

December: -3 - -7 °C (26.6--19.4 °F)
January: -4 - -9 °C (24.8--15.8 °F)
February: -3 - -10 °C (26.6--14 °F)

In my opinion Berlin's climate is slightly milder than Moscow's, but not different enough for Germans to not know that it's cold in winter. They experience snow, ice, and wind every winter.

Was the cold climate by itself a serious factor that helped the Russians defeat the Germans in WWII or not?


texts: What was the earliest black advocacy for Palestinian rights?

texts:
According to a recent book published by Historian Michael Fischbach, Black Power and Palestine,  the SNCC, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, one of the main advocacy bodies for black emancipation during the civil rights era in the USA, in its June-July newsletter in 1967 raised questions about Israel and Zionism and which led to a backlash, resulting in a significant drop in donor support.
In fact the article itself took the form of a two-page spread titled Third World Round Up: The Palestine Problem: Test Your Knowledge and was compiled by editor Ethel Minor from a Palestine Research Center pamphlet titled, Do You Know? Twenty Basic Facts about the Palestine Problem and included cartoons by Kofi Bailey. In their preamble, they write:

In the past few weeks, the Arab-Israeli conflict exploded once again into an all out war as it did in 1956 and as it had done in 1948, when the State of Israel was created. What are the reasons for this prolonged conflict and permanent state of war which has existed between the Arab nations and Israel? Why has the United Nations, which helped create the problem, been unable to solve it? Why have hostilities continued? What is the root of the problem?
Since we know that the white American press seldom, if ever, gives the true story [sic] about world events in which America is involved, then we are taking this opportunity to present the following documented facts on this problem. These facts not only affect the lives of our brothers in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, but also pertain to our struggle here. We hope they will shed some light on the problem. Future issues of SNCC Newsletter will contain more background information and articles on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

In fact due to the ferocious backlash, there was one just one other issue that covered the sitation where they carefully contextualised the conflict.
Q. Is the earliest documented advocacy by a black civil rights group on behalf of Palestine? If not, what is the earliest?
Q. Was this the only intervention by the SNCC on Palestine or were there subsequent ones?
Given that my use of the term 'advocacy' has been questioned. I'm pointing out here that I'm using the term advocacy in its usual sense and I think that this holds since it appears that the SNCC itself was divided on how to tackle the situation - I imagine that the leadership would have on the whole expected the backlash - yet a determined faction was able to publish the article in the newsletter and also to promise a more detailed analysis. This counts as advocacy in my book.


texts: What country has the shortest history of human habitation?

texts: Feel free to interpret the question as referring to either permanent human habitation or human habitation in general.


texts: What was the conflict in Milan from 1041-1044?

texts:
I was researching the Pataria movement in Milan that began around 1045. I found mention of a compromise of Milan in 1044. This got me interested in these earlier events. The only information that I can find is in this link:

  1041 The people of Milan, headed by Lanzo, drive the nobles out of Milan
  1044 Peace restored in Milan

  Historian's history of the World

What are the details of this conflict? Was prince-bishop Aribert involved? Is it connected to relations with Germany, like Conrad's siege of Milan in 1039?

Added 4/11: Semipaiscuba has provided a source, but it leaves me with questions. The events were the result of a revolt in 1035 that compelled Conrad to grant the "lesser nobles" the same status as the nobles. It appears that these lesser nobles kicked out the greater nobles in 1041. What I'm confused about is that it begins to describe mercantile and artisinal groups later on in the conflict. I think the explanation for this is on wikipedia, but I would like more information about their relationship, if both comprised the rebels.

  In the political arena of Italy, power was disputed between the great territorial magnates— the capitanei— with their vassal captains and the lesser nobility— the valvassores— allied with the burghers of the Italian communes.
     -Aribert Wikipedia

I'd like to place the events into context with the preceding and later periods if they are related. Did it cause the Holy Roman Emperor to lose influence? Did it create the political situation that led to the Pataria movement?


texts: How were the bodies of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette identified in their unmarked graves?

texts:
I have read that Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were both buried in unmarked graves after their executions during the French Revolution. On January 18, 1815, during the Bourbon Restoration, their bodies were exhumed and moved to their current location in the necropolis of French kings at the Basilica of St. Denis.

My question is, if they were buried in unmarked graves, how could their bodies be positively identified (or were they even positively identified)?


texts: First recorded use of a traditional tombstone?

texts: The question is rather straight-forward. I consider a "traditional" tombstone as some sort of monument having an inscribed name and date of birth/death or age.


texts: Did the Celts really go into battle naked?

texts:
Yes, this of-repeated tale was reported by the Romans all the time, but it sounds a lot like rumor.  Stuff the victors write about their former enemies, "they were so stupid, they went into battle naked" etc.  As historians, we need to look at history with a critical eye and should seek verification from multiple sources before making an firm conclusions.

So, are there any non-Roman sources that mention Celts going into battle naked?  Any Celtic records or oral histories, artistic depictions, etc?


texts: Could you please simplify "Carrying capacity" meaning in the following paragraph?

texts:
Carrying capacity of the land increased  - during spread of
  agricultural revolution in North America.


texts: WWI: British blockade of Germany (and neutrals)

texts:
How did the British maintain an effective blockade of Germany in WWI? The distant blockade required vast resources. The policy of blockading neutrals and other unlawful matters aroused international consternation and required public relations campaigns of great depth.

The policy of buying cargos declared contraband at market rates was ruinous. The policy of buying out commodity markets to prevent other powers purchasing, for example nitrates, was also ruinous.  The UK became a compulsory purchaser of last resort for at least 55% of Germany’s former imports, effectively 10% of pre-war German GDP,(wiki, archives) and that this would be necessarily purchased via gold backing or on credit dependent on the primary neutral which the blockade incensed.  The composition of these purchases were not dictated by the UK’s war needs, but by Germany’s former trade arrangements.

How did the UK manage to piece together these policies, keep them effective, and avoid the wroth of major mercantile and trading neutrals such as the US over its illegal blockade?

Sources:
 - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockade_of_Germany
 - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/spotlights/blockade.htm

The Wikipedia article lacks much on the “How” of the mechanics and is entirely deficient on the institutional and economic capacities of the UK to develop and implement these policies.


texts: Palestinian Troop Strength During 1948 War

texts:
I am trying to estimate the strength of the Palestinian irregular forces during the 1947-49 War.

I find two well documented groups:

Army of the Holy War, commanded by Husayni, based in Ramalla,
operating in Jerusalem Area size: ~1400
Arab Liberation Army, commanded by Qawuqji, Based in Damascus,
operating in North size: 6000 (many of these were not Palestinians)

I would expect to find another main group based in the coastal area, which had a large population, but cannot find it.

Is this accurate, that there was only a maximum of ~7500 irregular Palestinian fighters (disregarding the trope that there is no such thing as a Palestinian)?


texts:
I've found this article about The Mysterious Crespi Collection & The Metal Library

And there is a picture of The enigmatic Crespi plate:

And it's said:

  The age and origin of these items is still unknown today.

  These objects show the pictures of an unknown culture.

  The most well known pieces are tablets made of silver, gold foil or other alloys with unknown letters and mysterious symbols.

This is what was posted few years ago.

Is it really we don't know to which culture this seal belong to? How come?

See also:

The Crespi Ancient Artifact Collection of Cuenca Ecuador

  A Crespi Gold Plate with Written and Zodiacal Characters

Father Crespi and the Ancient Metallic library (video)

  J. Golden Barton gives his account of visiting father crespi in Ecuador, and of all the fascinating ancient artifacts he was able to see and photograph. This was given at the Ancient Historical Research Foundation symposium held a BYU on 5-25-05

  Dr. Guistavo Reinoso Hermidia, of Cuenca, and Dr. Olaf Holm, Director of the Museo del Banco Central of Guayaguil, both archaelogist. Some 8000 pieces of ceramics, including hundreds of truly superb examples, were transferred to the Museo for cataloguing.

Archaeological Discoveries of Ancient America (book)


texts:
How did the early United States (from about the time of their founding to about 1800) collect their taxes from their citizens? I read through this article and found no mention of how they actually, physically, collected the money.
Also, sources of information would be appreciated, please :)


texts: How strong is the current theory of the beginnings of Chinese writing?

texts: I've heard the claim that the current Chinese calendar was introduced some times around 2637 BCE by Emperor Huang Di. Apparently, written records date back to about 4,000 years ago and before that the Chinese didn't put dates on their documents. Does anybody know how well supported is this claim? Is it possible that the historical evidence is not accurate, and that the calendar and Chinese writing could have happened a few centuries later than the above-mentioned dates? Thanks.


texts: Jewish Slave Owners in the United States

texts:
David Duke has a video on YouTube about Jewish participation in various slave trades in Western history. At the 7:40 mark he states:

  In the pre-Civil War United States 2% of white gentile households owned slaves. 40% of Jewish households owned slaves. Jews were 2000% more likely to own slaves than white gentiles.

It's unclear if he means that those percentages were the average during the period of the nation's founding up until the Civil War, or just during one period of the pre-Civil War era. He claims to be using Jewish sources for these stats.

Are these claims valid?


texts:
Are the Dacians and the Getae the same people? When Caesar and Trajan refer to their enemies above the Danube, do they refer to the same people or different people?

Furthermore, how do Goths fit in? In Getica, there is a linkage made between the Getae and the Goths. Is it just a name confusion, or is there an accepted connection? If so, when did the Goths migrate do the Getae lands, or how did it work?


texts:
In Ocean's 12, towards the end of the movie in the famous scene where Night Fox is dodging the laser field to steal the (fake) coronation egg at the museum, we see this statue in the foreground.

My question is, what is this statue or rather or who is this a statue of? It seems like a famous classical Greek figure, maybe even a mythological figure. The figure is beautifully haunting and has been bugging me ever since I first saw it in the movie.

The clip is in HD here with the statue showing up for a few seconds starting at 1:06.

This is not a movie question but rather a question regarding a piece of art of classical antiquity. That's why I am posting it here hoping the history buffs can help me instead of the Stack Exchange Movies Beta.

Thanks.


texts: Did the United States have a third atomic bomb to drop on Japan?

texts:
On 15 August, six days after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan announced its surrender to the United States, signing the instrument of surrender on 2 September, officially ending the war.

The question is: Why didn't the United States drop another atomic bomb between 9 August and 15 August, at the risk of not having the war ended in a short time? How certain are we that the United States didn't have a third atomic bomb to drop over Japan?


texts: Why did WW1 soldiers carry so much equipment?

texts: I am actually so confused. Shouldn’t they just carry a gun and ammo and maybe some rations?


texts: Why was William III of England referred to as the British-Batavian Nassau?

texts:
While reading through the book Medallic illustrations of the history of Great Britain and Ireland to the death of George II vol. I, I came across this interesting description.

My question is why William III is referred to as the "British-Batavian Nassau"? I am unfamiliar with both Batavia and Nassau.


texts:
Were there ever any farming societies without a calendar?

For example, the Egyptians had a calendar to help them know when to plant and when to harvest.  The ancient Greeks had a calendar, as did the Romans.  Were there ever any societies that lived by farming (as opposed to pastoralism or hunting/gathering) without a calendar to keep track of the parts of the year?


texts: Did technical managers have to join the Nazi party?

texts:
In the Soviet Union a person who was rising in technical management (say, becoming the director of a plant) was usually expected to join the Communist Party as a pre-requisite of getting the job.

I wonder if that was the case in Nazi Germany as well - did technical manager of comparable rank have to join the Nazi Party?

To clarify, I am talking about "soft expectations" here, not about a formal manual that lays down the rules, which afaik did not exist in the Soviet case as well.

P.S.
A possible (trivial) answer might be that the Nazis have not properly nationalized the industry, with most plants still remaining in private hands - so a full parallel is impossible. However, I understand that industry was very tightly watched and regulated in Nazi Germany as well - so perhaps the question makes some sense after all.


texts: Why did Russia set up so many cities in Siberia and Far East?

texts:
If one takes a casual glance at the Russian population census data, he or she would be astonished to find that a significant part of the Russian population is actually not concentrated west of the Urals but fairly spread out in its Siberia and Far East federal districts. This clearly doesn't make sense economically, as these locations are too inland and the rivers they are sitting on only flow into the Arctic oceans, so transportation relies almost solely on the Trans-Siberian Railway, which was built in the late 19th century.

As a hunch, this almost seems like some sort of planned colonization to me, with many cities of highly similar metallurgy/heavy equipment manufacturing industry as the base of the economy with a population around 100,000 to 1,000,000. To me, this almost feels like the original 13 colonies of colonial America. What was the historical reason behind this seemingly half-successful colonization? Why was Russia so insistent in putting people into its vast interior, where it was absolutely safe from enemy invasion and not worth invasion or even nuclear strikes anyway, as opposed to just establishing big military outposts and mining/oil towns like in Alaska?


texts: What events led to the Aztecs and Mayans adopting cocoa beans as a currency?

texts:
I read how the Aztec Empire and the Mayans used cocoa beans as a currency but bartered before hand. I know records for these civilizations are rare, but do we have any record of certain historical events leading to the Aztecs and/or Mayans transitioning from a barter economy to one based on a cocoa bean economy?
I will also consider speculative answers for when we thought the transition from barter to cocoa bean currency happened.


texts: Did Albert Einstein really receive this rejection letter from the University of Bern?

texts: I saw this image on Facebook and I usually take what's posted there with a grain of salt. I have reversed image searched and googled, but with no luck. I'm curious about the authenticity surrounding this letter.


texts: Besides Magna Carta and general decentralization, what specifically led to democratization in England?

texts:
In England, the gradual weakening of the central government (starting with the Magna Carta), and the gradual rights given to nobility slowly pushed England to a democratic form of government. Yet in other countries with a weak central government (Poland, Holy Roman Empire), no democracy ever developed, and the nobility just upgraded their status to that of Kings.

What was unique in England that pushed democracy?


texts: Has China ever sent officials to collect tribute under the tributary system, instead of receiving missions, besides Zheng He's voyages?

texts:
The usual picture I have of tribute to the Chinese emperor, is that tributaries were dispatched to present their tribute to the court, that is in China.

But it seems there were exceptions to this rule, at least during Zheng He’s voyages. Wikipedia states:

  Over the next three decades he [Zheng He] conducted seven of these voyages on behalf of the emperor, trading and collecting tribute in the eastern Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Was collecting tribute instead of receiving it in China something unusual, or did it simply escape my attention? Or is it simply a short form of saying “he transported dignitaries to China, so as to allow them to pay tribute”?

The article explains that the voyages violated the first Ming emperors instructions, but I think that might only be because of their high cost. Information on this last point should be in “Huangming zuxun and Zheng He's Voyages to the Western Oceans”, which is not available through our university library.


texts: Historical Statistical Analysis on the Length of Court Proceedings in the US?

texts:
Hello, all. I have been trying to find (and have failed, thus far) historical analyses of the average length of time court cases take, from start to finish, in the United States over time.

I have a theory that, as a proxy for the increasing complexities of the legal system over time, court cases - across all categories (civil, federal, etc) - should also be taking significantly longer, and I am now trying to find evidence of that.

If anyone could point me in the direction of such statistical research - even where to look - I would extremely appreciate any and all help.


texts: Why did Joseph Goebbels allow an all-Jewish Orchestra to exist and perform in Berlin from 1938 to 1941?

texts:
Rehearsal for a performance of Judas Maccabaeus (Handel) in May 1934 by the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden Orchestra, in the (Bernburger Straße) Berliner Philharmonie; conductor: Kurt Singer. Sources: Wikipedia and The Jüdische Kulturbund Project

Background:

I am beginning to research every-day life (culture / society) in Nazi Germany and in the occupied nations during World War II (hence my earlier question here about the Hitler Youth).  I am starting by reviewing what kind of news (print and broadcast) Germans, French, Dutch, and Norwegian citizens had access to (legal and contraband), access to food and basic supplies (gasoline, heating fuel, etc.), and cultural activities (theater, libraries, symphonies, etc.).  I know this is just the tip of the iceberg but I must start somewhere.  I have purchased and started reading Diary of the Dark Years, 1940-1944: Collaboration, Resistance and Daily Life in Occupied Paris (Jean Guéhenno, Oxford University Press, Reprint Edition, 2016) and I just came across another book which I have just ordered, which gives rise to my question here (the book may answer my question, but I don't have it yet, and it won’t arrive until mid October).

The bulk of the elements of daily life I am starting with obviously fell under the purview of Joseph Goebbels as Reichsminister of Propaganda. The Propaganda Ministry controlled rallies, public health, youth and race, radio, national and foreign press, films, art, music, theater, and protection against counter-propaganda.

Summary:

The book I just ordered is A Jewish Orchestra in Nazi Germany (Lily Hirsch, University of Michigan Press, 2011).  I have read some reviews of the book and am intrigued by the Jüdischer Kulturbund which was permitted to continue publishing Jewish books, conduct lectures and maintain a performing Jewish orchestra in Berlin, with eventual smaller branches in other German cities.

Question:

Why did Goebbels, a fanatic anti-Semite who orchestrated the public burning of books and the purging of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics of all Jewish musicians, allow the Jüdischer Kulturbund to publish books and maintain a Jewish orchestra from 1938 to 1941 in Berlin?


texts: Why did countries declare exclusive economic zones of up to 200 nautical miles?

texts:
Today coastal countries own the surrounding marine waters stretching 200 nautical miles from their shoreline in terms of exclusive rights of exploiting its resources (their exclusive economic zone (EEZ)).

The previous limits of 3 and later 12 nautical miles (nm) are said to resemble the range of a cannon shot and therefore may have been established because of strategic reasons.

Iceland extended its EEZ to 200 nm during the cod wars to secure and be able to defend fishing rights against the British. Chile and Peru already claimed in 1947 EEZs of 200 nm but I'm not aware of the reasoning.

I have not much doubt that, unlike the case with Iceland, the main motivation behind establishing large EEZs is to extend territories out of strategic reasons and to secure marine resources (especially energy resources).

But, are there other cases where reasons of seemingly minor importance (well, fishing was certainly so much of importance to Iceland to have a big quarrel with the British) were the motivation of countries to extend their EEZ beyond the previous limits of 12 nm?
What was the reasoning of Chile and Peru?
I'm especially interested in cases where fishing was found to be the single most important factor.


texts: How accurate is Nietzsche's account of the birth of tragedy?

texts:
In his first book, The Birth of Tragedy out of the Spirit of Music, Nietzsche claims that tragic drama, as a practice, emerged from an originally solely-musical chorus. First people sang story-songs, especially dithyrambs, and then later came dialog and characters as the subjects of the songs.

(There's also a lot about Apollinian and Dionysian cultures, and the role of aesthetics in justifying the existence of the world, and so on, but I don't want to get into any of that.)

How has this purely historical thesis held up? Is there any kind of modern consensus on how early tragedy evolved?


texts: Where can I find demographic information for the Roman Empire?

texts: Where could I find data series concerning population and immigration numbers in the Roman Empire? Is there even any information regarding this subject?


texts: Is there a historical precedent to the vaccine scare?

texts: Today many people believe that vaccines cause autism. Is there a historical equivalent to this conspiracy theory, in that people believe something to be harmful when it has been proven benign by authorities? Fluoride comes to mind, but I'm looking for something further back in history.


texts: What was the largest warship sunk by a Motor Torpedo Boat in WW2?

texts: I know that in WW1 the Austrian battleship Szent Istvan was sunk by an Italian motor torpedo boat.  What was the largest warship sunk by a PT boat in WW2?


texts: Private firms (aka mercenaries) as a police force

texts:
Since the police invited security firms to bid for roles in the UK, I was wondering if there are historical events where mercenaries were used to police a city (or town or local) and what the effects were?

I suspect that the 30 years war would have quiet a few of those but cannot think of specific examples.


texts:
Can someone give me an example of stimulus diffusion from history?

I can't find anything on Google that doesn't have to do with McDonalds.


texts: Recall reading somewhere a description by Julius Caesar of the Celts(?) as being fast talking, often through gestures and half words. And often saying the opposite of what was intended. Like to find the exact quote and reference to that passage.


texts: What if a slave entered a state without slavery?

texts:
I was told that a slave entering a sovereign state that has abolished slavery is automatically freed.

However, I was only able to trace legal statements on this for ships travelling under the flag of a state that has abolished slavery.

Were there any states which also applied this to their territory? If yes, which?
When were these laws passed, and are they still effective?


texts: Was Christianity the first belief system which encouraged the ideal of peace among all people on Earth?

texts: Have there been other instances before or parallel to Christianity where war, revenge and conflict was repudiated or not seen as an ideal - and instead peace and love for the others (love for the neighbor) was one of the core ideals?


texts: Were the "hussars" that Jan Sobieski used at the battle of Vienna actually elite troops?

texts:
Apparently, the decisive blow at the 1683 Battle of Vienna was struck by Jan Sobieski, with only 3,000 "hussars" (cavalry). This seems a bit hard to believe, given that the Turkish army had about 100,000, while hussars were the second worst form of cavalry, above only Cossacks. Was Cossack cavalry ineffective relative to other troops?

But dragoons were supposedly twice as good as hussars, and cuirassers twice as good again as dragoons. So could Sobieski's "hussars" actually been better troops in one of the two other categories.

It's easier for me to imagine that the "equivalent" of 6,000 or even 12,000 hussars struck such a decisive blow. Could Sobieski's 3,000 cavalry been elite troops armed with pistols AND blade weapons, meaning that they were actually worth more than their stated number? If not, what would have enabled a relatively small number of troops to strike such a decisive blow?


texts:
Why is the charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations signed "HOWARD"?

Note also that the Charter of Connecticut is likewise signed "By Writ of Privy Seal, HOWARD".

But, the keeper of the privy seal at the time was actually John, Lord Roberts. Now, I know that Lord Roberts spent a lot of time hunting and did not fulfill all of his offices, but in any case, who is this Howard then?


texts: Nowadays almost all civilian and military vessel have a name. Was this so in the antiquity, did the ships of Athens, Carthage or Rome have formal individual names?


texts: Did King Porus's men use snake poison against Alexander's troops?

texts:
This claim comes from about.com. It references this source which doesn't claim that Porus specifically did it, merely that such a practice was common. It also cites Adrienne Mayor who claims that Alexander's men encountered poisoned arrow heads.

A separate source on the University of Washington website claims that:

  Diodorus describes  Alexander’s Army encountering  war  elephants of
  Indian King Porus and the siege of Harmatelia (todays SW Pakistan) in
  326 BC.  The warriors had smeared their spears swords and arrows with
  snake venom from Vipera russelli.

  The wounded Greeks went numb, exper convulsions, vomited bile and a
  purple-green gangrene to horr. death. After a plant was  found as
  antidote “by Alex” the Greeks defeated the barbarians.

Were the swords/elephant tusks/arrows of Porus's army poisoned?
What was this antidote that Alexander found?

EDIT: It seems that about.com misinterpreted Adrienne Mayor's work, see her comment below.


texts: Why aren't the Americas named after Christopher Columbus

texts:
I was reading the question Why is Columbus Credited with Discovering America, and I wondered why aren't the Americas named after him?

I was under the impression that although he is the one we credit with the discovery (read the above question for reasons why), Amerigo Vespucci is the one often credited with realizing it was a whole new "world", and thus named after him.

So, if we credit the discovery of the Americas with Christopher Columbus, why do I not live in North Columbica?


texts: Did Antarctica remain entirely unvisited by humans until the early 19th century?

texts:
Antarctica today is covered permanently by thick layers of ice, making it extremely inhospitable to humans. And, unlike the Arctic regions,  it had no indigenous population of humans when modern man arrived there. (Presumably because unlike the Arctic regions, getting to Antarctica involves a danger-fraught journey over the open ocean, and once you're there, it's just as hard to get back.) See: Antarctica has no indigenous population

What do we know about possible ancient (or at least not modern) human settlement in Antarctica - perhaps during pockets of time when there was less ice, or people somehow settling in the ice - human extremophiles, as it were? Or, to expand the possibilities somewhat, settlement by some of the pre-human hominids in very ancient times, when there was perhaps less ice? Are there myths and legends suggesting such a possibility? Any archaeological finds that might indicate such a thing? Maybe at least along the coastlines which are not continually buried in ice? Do those exploring Antarctica today concern themselves at all with such a possibility?

We do know that there were periods in Earth's history when Antarctica was not covered by ice and would have been quite habitable, (see
Lennart Regebro's citation: A forest grows in Antarctica) so it does have some history of habitability, but that history dates at minimum to 3 million years ago based on that source, long before hominids capable of settling in Antarctica arose.  So that period would not be relevant to the discussion. Also see: Antarctica was not always cold, dry and covered in ice sheets..

I have no 'conspiracy theory' agenda here - I am not suggesting, as some 'unorthodox...' (pseudo) researchers have, that there is some hidden secret civilization existing today in Antarctica that is the source of UFO's etc. That is nothing but science fiction IMO. I ask this question simply because it seems rather incredible to me, that although humans had already reached virtually every place on earth in prehistoric times, a whole continent existed that humans never reached. In recent times, we have learned so much about the scope and ingenuity of human life in ancient times and far flung corners of the earth, and so I wonder: Have we perhaps learned something about humans in Antarctica?

Can we say with a degree of certainty (i.e. barring some sudden, spectacular revolutionary discovery) that Antarctica is an entire continent untouched by humans until modern man arrived there in the early 19th century? See: The first documented landing on mainland Antarctica was by the American sealer John Davis in West Antarctica on 7 February 1821,

(I am looking for more than just additional references to the wiki page which I already read - we can all find things in wiki - my hope is that on this site we can delve deeper and further. IMO wiki should not have the final word in all our historical inquiries.)


texts:
...the United States emerged from World War II not only controlling the North Atlantic but ruling all of the world's oceans. It also occupied Western Europe, shaping the destinies of countries like France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and indeed Great Britain itself. The United States simultaneously conquered and occupied Japan, almost as an afterthought to the European campaigns.
Thus did the Europeans lose their empire-partly out of exhaustion, partly from being unable to bear the cost of holding it, and partly because the United States simply did not want them to continue to hold it. The empire melted away over twenty years, with only desultory resistance by the Europeans.The geopolitical reality (that could first be seen in Spain’s dilemma centuries before) had played itself out to a catastrophic finish.
Source: "The Next 100 Years" by George Friedman

Remark: Centuries before 1945 year


texts: Why does Alexander the Great call Greeks free men while Persians slaves?

texts:
So there seems to be this theme of Greeks being "free men"  with Alexander the Great saying "we are free men, and they are slaves"
My understanding was that this mean the Greek lived in democratic/ oligarchic city states with some voting rights for government for city citizens, but that is clearly not the case with Macedon kings.  Did the city states send soldiers into Alexanders army purely voluntarily  or..
My understanding was that slavery was rare in the Persian empire and most craftsmen/workers were "free"


texts: At what point were the most current and former US Presidents alive?

texts: At what year or parts of years were the most current (meaning in office) and former Presidents of the United States alive? It seems that 1833 to 1836 had the most current, former, and future Presidents alive, but what year had the most that actually or were currently serving?


texts:
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought,
 but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

What exactly was the historical context of this statement he made, and what precisely did he mean by it?

The meanings I can thing of for it are:

that all engineers, scientists, technicians, libraries(implicitly internet?), electronics devices and movie dvds and everything similar will be destroyed and noone will ever attempt to think about more advanced primate tools (with some brain restricting illness maybe?) until next war or
humanity vanish, other primates evolve and war with sticks and stones or
only one side wins, which enslaves other side and slaves are not permitted to use any metal tool including electronics also libraries are destroyed so maybe generations later, they don't even remember what world war was, then they just simply attack each other because any advanced technology will be perceived as "god" so they simply obey and continue attacking each other using whatever they have (sticks and stones)? [by "side", I don't mean any country or any religious group]


texts: Did it take 3 minutes to reload a musket when the second amendment to the US constitution was ratified?

texts:
The NPR News podcast and video Beto O'Rourke Wants To Ban, Confiscate Some Guns. Texas Voters Want Details (about 6.5 minutes long) contains the following assertion by Congressman O'Rourke:

In under three minutes, in a Walmart in El Paso Texas, 22 people were killed.
When the second amendment was adopted and ratified, it took three minutes to reload your musket.

Full discussion
Question: Did it in fact take something like three minutes to reload muskets when the Second Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified? Is a "three minute musket" representative of the best military individual firearm of the day for warfare?


texts: Has any state ever forcibly expelled part of its territory?

texts:
Throughout history, states (countries) have broken away from other states to become independent, usually against the will of the parent state.  But has there ever been a case of a parent state forcibly expelling part of its own territory against the will of the people who live there?

To be clear, I'm not asking about territory given away to resolve territorial disputes, territory sold, or states created from crumbling empires. I'm specifically looking for examples of a state basically saying to part of its territory, "We don't like you. You're on your own."

I suspect the answer is no, because most states would probably expel the people and keep the territory...


texts: What happened to the foreigners in Germany during the Nazis?

texts: What was Hitler's plan for foreign nationals of countries not in war against Germany (including the US before entering the war) and living there during the III Reich?


texts: Does U.S. law still apply to persons who were deported to Russia in 1919 using the "Soviet Ark"?

texts:
"Attorneys General: Enforcing the Law" by Phyllis Raybin Emert, states that 249 persons, were subjected to deportation to Russia via Finland.

The leaders of the deportees Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldmann, "declared they will not remain in Russia but will 'return to America to save it'"

Did any of these deportees ever returned to America. If not, what is the reason?


texts: Did Abraham Lincoln have a duel with cannons?

texts: When you where challenged to a duel or challenged someone to a duel, it was the person that was challenged that chose the weapon. Once someone challenged Lincoln To a duel and he said " how about cannons?". I can't find any historic evidence of this duel actually happening, so I wanted to know if he ever duelled someone with a cannon?


texts: What is the chair depicted in Cesare Maccari's 1889 painting "Cicerone denuncia Catilina"?

texts: There are a number of inaccuracies in Cesare Maccari's painting. Wikipedia notes that the arrangement of the chairs was of parallel rather than radial as depicted. Did Maccari accurately depict the shape of the chairs of the senate of Republican Rome? And, regardless of their accuracy, what are the chairs called that are depicted here? Are the chairs in Maccari's painting historic to any period?


texts: Who owns the Saudi-Iraqi neutral zone after the 1991 Gulf War?

texts:
According to Wikipedia, the Saudi-Iraqi neutral zone was created in 1922 by the British-controlled Iraq and the Sultanate of Nejd (the predecessor of Saudi Arabia). The same article continues:

  As the Gulf War approached in early 1991, Iraq cancelled all
  international agreements with Saudi Arabia since 1968. Saudi Arabia
  responded by registering all previous boundary agreements negotiated
  with Iraq at the United Nations in June 1991. Thus ended the legal
  existence of the Saudi–Iraqi neutral zone.

The article mentioned the neutral zone no longer existed but did not say how the status was resolved. Who owns the neutral zone at the end? Is it Saudi Arabia, as victor of the Gulf War? Did Iraq subsequently dispute this (it seems that whatever step Saudi in 1991 did was unilateral)?

Bonus: If you could also edit the Wikipedia article to clarify this ;)


texts: What was the biggest empire that never had capital punishment?

texts: I have no idea. So I decided to ask.My motivation is that it would be an interesting juxtaposition of violence and non violence.


texts: What kinds of documents were forged in the middle ages and how common was forgery?

texts: For example I was reading about the Privilegium Maius, and was wondering what other instances of document forging were there in the middle ages ?


texts:
It seems to me that if a ruler let in too few ppl, s/he wouldn't have much to rule after the siege, and if s/he let in too many s/he wouldn't have much chance of outlasting it.

What happened to people who lived outside a castle when the castle was under siege? How many of them would retreat to the castle? What would happened to the people who were not permitted entry to the castle? If they were usually killed, have there been rulers who outlasted a siege but were left with only themselves and the inhabitants of their castle to rule over?


texts: What is the most severe punishment a priest could have in history for violating his vows of celibacy?

texts:
I am doing a research about this topic, because I wanted to know if at some point in the history of Chirstian Church (specially the Catholic Chuch) would have a punishment for priests violating their vows of celibacy that could ruin their life completely, which could be in a time when the Catholic Church wasn’t tolerant to this behavior.

By violating their vow of celibacy, I mean having relationships or sex with adult woman. And by ruining a life, I mean the biggest punishment a priest could have received in history.
I’m looking for historical references for cases like these.


texts: I have found this picture on MSN, with the claim that it is a P-38 somewhere at the French Riviera. However the P-38 Lightning is a twin-engined fighter, while this wreck has most probably four. What is it?


texts: Would League of Nations and U.S. sanctions/trade embargo against 1930's Germany had notable consequences in Germany?

texts: My research shows that trade between the U.S., France, and Britain with Germany during the mid 1930's was lower than it had been and was on a decline.  This has lead me to ponder the following question: how notable would have France/British/U.S. sanctions been against Germany?  Would have severe sanctions against Germany during this period resulted in drastic economic consequences for the German people, or would they have been of little note?  Can anyone recommend any research articles or books discussing these issues?


texts: How have the valuations of premium examples of legacy technologies behaved historically, around their time of becoming obsolete?

texts:
Classic car prices are at an all-time high, with prestigious vehicles from the late 20th century such as e.g. a 1960s Porsche 911 fetching upwards of £125,000 and a 1960's supercar such as e.g. a Ferrari 275 GTB fetching over $27 million.
Such appreciation has been commonplace throughout history for prestige items, especially when they're in limited supply and can no longer be made - a classic example would be e.g. the Stradivarius violin or even Faberge eggs or unique works of art.
A stradivarius violin is a good analogy with cars because it can (and should) still be used as a concert violin, despite its age - in the same way classic cars are driven occasionally for rallying etc., or even as a daily driver.  Motor vehicles however, are at a unique crossroads insofar as we are entering the electric vehicle revolution - within two or three decades petrol may be more difficult to come by and the cost of ownership for petrol vehicles will increase, and their useability decrease.
I'm interested in learning historical perspectives on the values of specifically prestige items which have become obsolete in the same way, and what happened to their values around the time they became obsolete.  Did they appreciate, or depreciate?  A suitable example might be an expensive (possibly e.g. jewelled or ceremonial) sword at the time swords became obsolete due to firearms with bayonets entering mass production.  Another example could be e.g. harpsichords as pianos replaced them etc.


texts:
I often hear that the SS were "the elite troops of the Reich" and I seriously doubt it without being able to explain why it wasn't despite having read two entire books on the Waffen-SS.

I think it's fair to say that they were an elite in the sense that it was more of a "cultural elite". They were trained to become fanatics of the Nazi ideology, but when it is mentioned that the SS is an elite force, it's more in the sense that they were an extraordinarily efficient force during combat and that they were unstoppable. I do know that they experienced defeats, but I don't have any particular example to give, so some given in the answer would be nice.

The books I read in the subject were "La Waffen-SS" by Jean-Luc Leleu. Two tomes of at least 500 pages and this question is not answered.


texts: Why weren't army snipers used at the Munich massacre?

texts:
I was reading about the history of the GSG 9 and found the following statement on Wikipedia:

  "Police did not have a specialized tactical sniper team at that time.
  The army had snipers, but the German Constitution did not allow the
  use of German Armed Forces on German soil during peacetime."

I did some more reading on the incident and apparently they sent some guys with no marksman training to act as snipers. Now, I understand that they could not use the army snipers, as the German Constitution banned this.

But why didn't they ask some snipers to resign from the armed forces and then hire them in the police force and deploy them?


texts: Did the Germans face the same "weather" difficulties for an "Operation Sea Lion" as the Allies faced at Normandy?

texts:
From what I understand, the June 1944 landing at Normandy was kind of an "iffy" thing, because of the weather. That's because there were only a few windows of opportunity each year, when the tides were properly aligned, and then only if the "atmosphere" cooperated. If the invasion hadn't taken place on June 6, there was only one more theoretical opportunity in July, 1944, one that wouldn't have materialized, because of the "air." Without the June 6th invasion, the invasion would have to have been postponed until 1945.

Did the Germans face similar tide and weather issues with their "Sea Lion" plans for the invasion of England? On one hand, they had a wider choice of landing sites than the western end of the English Channel, but on the other hand, their landing craft was far less sturdy. Was it a situation where the Germans would not only have had to win the (air) "Battle of Britain," but have control of British skies on a few critical days that mattered because most others did not?


texts: Did Aztecs know how many continents there are on earth?

texts:
I was leafing through an old French magazine, Historia, and read something that caught my attention. The author of a small article on Aztecs games mentionned a god, Xochipilli Macuilxochitl, who was crowned with five flowers. According to the article, the five flowers were symbols for the five continents of Earth.
It seemed absurd to me but I haven't the knowledge to prove it and be sure of the absurdity. If someone had any information about this crown, the geographical and traditional knowledge or beliefs that could make sense, I would be very happy to know about it.


texts: After World War 2, was there a trend to say "defense" instead of "war"?

texts:
In answering a question whether "defense forces" has any legal meaning, I noticed a trend. Before World War 2 military departments and ministries used terms like "war". After World War 2 they switched to "defense".

US (1949) Department Of War -> Department of Defense
Germany (1956) Kriegsmarine (War Navy) -> Deutsche Marine (German Navy)
UK (1964) War Office -> Ministry of Defence

Often this happened when multiple military departments/ministries, such as the army ("war") and navy, were merged into a single entity.
We also got euphemisms such as "forward defense" and "pre-emptive self-defense" for actions which previously would have been called wars.
Is there such a trend? And if so, why?


texts: Settling legal disputes in high medieval Europe?

texts:
In a medieval village, my understanding is that disputes (of a legal nature, as we view them today) could be settled in the manor court. But what about in urban centers? If two people living in a town had a disagreement, what authority would they appeal to? Was there a legal body established for this purpose or is that a later development?

Please note that I am asking specifically about the High Middle Ages.


texts: Demographics: Were diseases the sole reason for the decrease in native Hawaiian population?

texts:
Wikipedia says:

  After Europeans and mainland Americans first arrived during the Kingdom of Hawaii period, the overall population of Hawaii, until that time composed solely of indigenous Hawaiians, fell dramatically. The indigenous Hawaiian population succumbed to foreign diseases, declining from 300,000 in the 1770s, to 60,000 in the 1850s, to 24,000 in 1920.

While this pattern seems to be similar to the fate of earlier "discovered" peoples in Latin America, since it took place in the late 18th and mostly 19th century I'd expect there were better historical records at that point in time, begging the question: Are there good analyses of this remarkable population decline that go beyond simple explanations like "diseases"?

Related: I also asked on the biology SE how populations can vary in their level of immunity to diseases (genetic inheritance vs. individually acquired immunity), the expert consensus seems to be that both mechanisms are in effect. https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/76271/can-immunity-to-diseases-vary-by-populations

To clarify: I do not "doubt" the "mainstream narrative", I'd like to dive deeper into it.  Please provide links for research.

To further clarify: Judging by the intial reaction, my poor wording seems to have produced much confusion, sorry for that. What I meant:

I never intended to claim that diseases did not constitute the single most important part of the explanation, but I consider(ed) it likely that there was an interplay between diseases, politics/warfare, social mores, maybe emigration and/or slave labor, etc.
I assumed that Hawaii would be an interesting exemplary case because events unfolded comparatively recently (better data/observations). I did not intend to imply that Hawaii was a singular or special case.

(Thank you everybody for your answers and help)


texts: Why were so many female members of Hapsburg family named Maria something?

texts:
Recently, I have noticed that Empress Maria Theresa’s daughters’ names all begin with Maria.

Archduchess Maria Elisabeth
Archduchess Maria Anna
Archduchess Maria Carolina
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen
Archduchess Maria Elisabeth
Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma
Archduchess Maria Johanna Gabriela
Archduchess Maria Josepha
Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples and Sicily
Maria Antonia, Queen of France

And then the empress had 2 younger sisters: Maria anna and Maria Amalia.
Joseph II, the empress’ son and heir, also had two daughters: Maria Theresa and Maria Christina.
Leopold II, another son, named all of his daughters Maria something.
The empress’s grandfather, Leopald I, the Holy Roman emperor also named all his daughters Maria something.
Is it a tradition of the 18th century to name archduchess maria something? Or is it just a Hapsburg thing?—like protruding jaw?  Why is that? And also why Maria something—not Theresa something or Elizabeth something or whatsoever? I know Maria is a common name but still, why?


texts: When did aircraft carriers eclipse battleships as the "King of the seas"?

texts: During the 19th century and into the early 20th century, battleships were the Kings of the Sea, and every naval power of note had at least one. When did they lose this title to the aircraft carrier, and was it a particular battle, event, or was it a more gradual series of events that lead to the changeover in naval strategy?


texts: Why did the Swabian Hohenzollern princes give away their power to the Prussian king in 1850?

texts:
The small independent country of Hohenzollern in southwestern Germany was run by two princes until 1850, when it was given away to the king of Prussia, who was a distant cousin to the princes (also descending from the Hohenzollern family).

Prussia expanded mainly with war, but in this particular case, Wikipedia does not say why the country of Hohenzollern was given away to Prussia in the German, French or English versions.

Since this happened before the war of 1866 (where Prussia basically took over most of Germany by defeating Austria), I do not see why the Hohenzollern princes would do such a thing as losing their independence.


texts:
According to the United Nations, a genocide is:

  any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Notwithstanding the quantitative differences, due perhaps to technological advances and large populations, what is the first historical instance that we could define in modern terms as a "genocide"?


texts: What was up with "Alicorn" in the 1920's and 30's

texts:
My question is about the applications of the term "alicorn." What I know is that it's a medieval term used for supposed compounds of unicorn horn. Later Peers Anthony used the term for a horned pegasus/winged unicorn in his books in the 80's. In this century, the My Little Pony franchise adopted that definition too.

I'm clearly missing something, however. If you plug "alicorn" into google ngram, you'll see a massive spike from 1925 to 1934, that dwarfs any of the later uses. What was going on then? Why the sudden jump, and then the equally sudden drop?


texts: Trying to identify a military uniform, ca. WWI

texts:
I've recently come into a a large group of dry glass plate negatives, and this is one of the first images I've come across. Most of the the other slides I've seen, so far, are likely from the early 1920's.

Any information would be appreciated, I'd like to track the family down if I can!


texts: How Successful Were the International Brigades?

texts:
During the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) to what extent did the International Brigades play a role in fighting the fascists coup? My understanding is that they were a relatively minor element, mostly dramatized by the Republican government and socialist parties world wide.  However, I am really interested to know if they were effective in any major battles.

I would also like to know the level of Soviet support that was given to the brigades, in comparison to international support for the Republican government and fascist support for the military coup.  Wikipedia provides some interesting statistics apparently heavily from Antony Beevor's The Battle for Spain, but some context and additional sources would be appreciated.


texts: Was "Aku Soku Zan" (悪即斬) a real Shinsengumi motto?

texts:
In the manga series Rurouni Kenshin, the character of Hajime Saito, who is based on the real historical figure, has a saying or motto, "Aku Soku Zan" (悪即斬), which is translated as "Slay evil immediately".
I found a few claims online that this was a real motto of the Shinsengumi the group that both historical Saito and fictional Saito are part of, but Wikipedia says it was probably not:

The "Aku Soku Zan" motto he lives by (悪即斬, most literally, "Kill those who are evil immediately,", translated as "Slay Evil Immediately" in the English dub and as "Swift Death to Evil" in the VIZ manga) is most likely fictitious, though it does encompass a common sentiment of the Shinsengumi during the Bakumatsu.

Is there any evidence that this phrase:

Was a real Shinsengumi motto?
Was a real motto of any contemporary group?
Was a fictitious creation from literature or folk history that predated the manga series Rurouni Kenshin?

For the purposes of this question, if a reasonable search effort through reliable sources doesn't turn up evidence for any of the three things I asked about, it's fair to say that such evidence doesn't exist and I will upvote and possibly accept a well-formulated answer that argues along those lines. "Reasonable" search effort, "reliable" sources, and "well-formulated" answer are things I'll decide once I see them.


texts: What are the known facts about the Great Pyramid of Cheops (Giza)?

texts: I know the pyramid is supposed to have pointed to the north star at the time, and also that some proportions (height to width??) are in the Golden Ratio. Is there a complete list of such features, as well as any information on the history of its construction?


texts: Is there basis in saying Venezuela was Aragonese?

texts:
So... This sounds like a silly question even to me, but this is the background. In the recent TV show, Bolivar, there is an Inspector of Weights and Measures for Caracas who comes in to weigh a shipment of cocoa from Venezuela to Spain. He says that the measurements that the people had been using were wrong as they used the Castilian arroba of 30 pounds while they should have been using the Aragonese arroba of 36 pounds (and, hence, they were cheating the King).

This seems to be a person with a judicial backing, hence this claim seems to be based in law: the people were using a Castilian definition of a measure while they should have been using an Aragonese one.

This sounded odd to me because my understanding of Spain was that after the decrees of Nueva Planta, the various legal differences between former separate kingdoms were abolished. Hence, even if Venezuela would have fallen under Aragonese law before 1716 (and I've not found any reason to think it would...), the Venezuelan territories would fall under Castilian law after that time.

At the same time, the show's proprietors are described as aiming towards historical accuracy:

  Additionally, as the landmark series produced for the company's 50th anniversary and the bicentennial of independence, it was reportedly given "unequaled scrutiny".

Hence, my question: Is there any basis for claiming that Venezuela should have followed Aragonese law or is this a fictitious addition to the show?


texts:
Are there any examples of attempting to use magic in history?

Note that I don't mean magic is real. I mean that some crazy commanders could THINK it is real and try to utilize it in battle.

For example, I read that Yang Fang was trying to use some magic troops in his defense of Canton during First Opium War but can't find reliable proofs.

Is this true? Are there some more explicit examples from modern and/or medieval history?


texts: Why did Cleon say this in the Mytilenian Debate?

texts:
I was reading Cleon's argument in the Mytilenian debate, and feel that I understand most of his argument. However, I don't understand why Cleon would say the following (emphasis mine):

  Let them now therefore be punished as their crime requires, and do not, while you condemn the aristocracy, absolve the people. This is certain, that all attacked you without distinction, although they might have come over to us and been now again in possession of their city. But no, they thought it safer to throw in their lot with the aristocracy and so joined their rebellion! Consider therefore: if you subject to the same punishment the ally who is forced to rebel by the enemy, and him who does so by his own free choice, which of them, think you, is there that will not rebel upon the slightest pretext; when the reward of success is freedom, and the penalty of failure nothing so very terrible? We meanwhile shall have to risk our money and our lives against one state after another; and if successful, shall receive a ruined town from which we can no longer draw the revenue upon which our strength depends; while if unsuccessful, we shall have an enemy the more upon our hands, and shall spend the time that might be employed in combating our existing foes in warring with our own allies
  (Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, Book 3, Chapter 9)

In my understanding, Cleon is arguing to kill all the men, even those who didn't instigate the rebellion. In other words, he is advocating "[subjecting] to the same punishment the ally who is forced to rebel by the enemy, and him who does so by his own free choice," but the above argument seems to be an effective counterargument to this position. If you punish everyone, even those who were forced to rebel, then everyone will be more likely to rebel in the future and the Athenians will be worse off. This seems to be an argument in favor of not punishing those who didn't start the rebellion, but that contradicts the rest of his argument.

Am I misunderstanding what Cleon means in this section? Or is he really providing a counterargument to his own argument? If so, why?


texts: Were railway guns ever critical in any battle during WWI and WWII?

texts:
Note: this is a question about railway - mounted artillery, NOT about armored trains (which were more akin to tanks-on-rails and had much smaller guns)

The idea behind railway gun is quite sound: a bigger gun is better than a small gun but it is harder to relocate. But if we will use trains, that can carry lots of weight relatively quickly, then we can put REALLY BIG guns on them and move them around with ease!

But the effect is far from expected because the railway artillery requires LOTS of maintenance and logistics, might have problems with aiming in other direction than straight ahead of the tracks and the number of shots per day is simply pathetic:

For example, the famous Dora (no, not that one) required 250 people to assemble the gun in 3 days, 2500 to lay the tracks and 2 flak battalions to protect it from the air attacks and in return, it was providing 14 shots per day.

All this looks horribly inefficient when compared to for example WW II bombers or even smaller, WW I heavy artillery, like the famous Big Bertha
(which could fire 8 shots per hour, although indeed with ~7 times lighter shell).

So, were ever those "white elephants" of modern weapons even critical in winning any battle? Or were there just a drain on the resource, that could be better spent on a different kind of weaponry?

Edit:

I've removed the "winning" part since indeed it had not much sense - U-boats were critical in the battle of Atlantic, yet the battle was won by Allies. So in other words, I am looking for battles where railway guns have played a very significant role, no matter on the final outcome.


texts: Have famous rabbis ever converted to Islam?

texts: By "famous rabbi" I mean someone who was actually known in at least one community as an authority on Jewish law, not just one who successfully completed rabbinical training.


texts:
The WP article on the history of surfing presently describes several historic traditions and a documented episode of Hawaiians surfing in  California in 1885. Obviously, being propelled by a wave on a floating board had already existed for a long time.

What is the earliest primary evidence of the practice of surfing? Was it mentioned by Captain Cook or another early visitor to Hawaii, or elsewhere?


texts: A common find of metal detectorists across Britain is the silver "love token", from around 1700. Do any contemporary sources describe the custom?

texts:
A typical example. Anecdotally, a young man would give a love token to his intended who would continue to carry it around, or throw it away if she failed to return his affections.

The majority are clearly made from William III sixpences.  I've seen a few examples that are later, and a few made from lower value coins.  The coins usually appear to have been rubbed flat before being bent twice into a very distinctive S-shape.  These are found in greater numbers than the unmutilated coins, supporting the idea that they were deliberately disposed of.


texts: Did monasteries hold land and collect rent in medieval Europe?

texts: In Ken Follett's series of books about the fictional town of Kingsbridge, the monastery essentially acts as lord over the surrounding area. They collect rent on lands they own, hear cases between the town's residents, and perform other duties that the local lord would. Did this actually happen in Europe?


texts: What was the biggest cause of Holodomor?

texts:
Historian Mark Tauger points out that the peasants shot themselves in the foot in addition to having a natural famine as well as the commissioners (who weren't Jewish but ethnic Ukrainians) being dicks.  This link contains his essays showing this.
However a daily beast article points this out:

  Not surprisingly, Blinova makes no mention of that—or of reports on the famine by British journalists Gareth Jones and Malcolm Muggeridge two years before Walker’s fictions. (Jones, who coined the term “man-made famine,” was barred from re-entering the Soviet Union in retaliation; in 1935, he was murdered by bandits while traveling in China, in what may have been a hit organized by Stalin’s secret police.) Nor does she mention accounts by Russian Jewish writers Vasily Grossman and Lev Kopelev, who could hardly be suspected of pro-Nazi sympathies. And, of course, she does not say a word about declassified documents such as government decrees imposing draconian punitive measures on villages that failed to meet grain production quotas—including confiscation of all food and a complete cutoff of supplies.

I should point out this was happening in Russia as well...so should we really call this an ethnic genocide?


texts: Do British peers have a special way of signing their names?

texts:
This passage in wikipedia implies that they do:

  Shortly before his death, Forrest was informed that the King had
  approved his being raised to the British peerage as Baron Forrest of
  Bunbury. He immediately began signing his name as "Forrest", as if he
  were already a peer.

But I don't understand what's the big deal with signing his name Forrest (rather than, say, Lord Forrest). Can't a commoner do that?

What am I missing here?


texts: When and why did tank crews cover their tank markings in WWII?

texts:
I'm currently working on a modeling project and would like to know why and when tank crews started to paint over their marking.

I'm also interested in which force started the trend and why?

I'm mostly talking about unit / vehicle numbers, so in the case of a US tank, the yellow or white number which would be on the hull or turret. Not the actual Star emblem.

As a side note, my project is making some US M4 Shermans and M5 Stuarts around around the time of The Battle of the Bulge


texts: Can stable Istotope analysis unambigously identify the Iberian Peninsula as the origin of signatures in human bones?

texts: Is the Isotope signature (e.g. O and Sr) of the Iberian Penisula specific enough to proof a human spent decades of adult adult there? This is not about the teeth, only about bones.


texts: Did the Red Army and German Army clash in Poland in 1939?

texts:
I found a youtube lecture by Stephen Kotkin. He is a professor of history, wrote 2 books on Stalin with a 3rd on the way, and has access to certain Russian archives. That's all I know about him, credential-wise.

At 33 minutes in, he says basically the following: The Germans crossed the line (the agreed-to line dividing Poland between Germany and USSR in the Molotov-Ribbentropt Pact) and were holding territory allocated to the Soviets, the Soviet and Germans talked about this, then Stalin decided to retake the territory by force, and did so. (Later he says the territory was the Galician Oil Fields.)

Is this true? Did the Red Army and German Army really clash in Poland at this time, with casualties on both sides? If so, what is the battle called and where can I read more about it? I couldn't find it on wikipedia or even google.


texts: How many Dutch lived in Indonesia during the colonial era vs native population?

texts: In Indonesian education, it is often emphasized that the Dutch took advantage of "divide and conquer" tactics (and superior technology) to keep ruling Indonesia (then the Dutch East Indies) despite being very outnumbered. At its peak, how many Dutch people lived in Indonesia during the colonial period? And how outnumbered was this compared to the native population?


texts: How was the start date of the bronze age determined?

texts:
Since the bronze age, it's been known that there was a bronze age, follow by an iron age.

Today it is accepted that the bronze age in the Middle East started about 3500 B.C. This date is easy to find through an internet search, but it is not backed up with a reference to how this date was determined.

Was it determined through carbon dating or by the depth of archaeological finds? And when was the approximate date set?


texts: How much did a good sword cost in Medieval Western Europe?

texts:
I realize the title is probably too broad to answer, so I'll narrow it down a bit:

Sword types: Viking swords, and/or Arming swords
Quality: Pattern welded iron/steel, crucible (or pseudo-crucible) steel (e.g., high end VLFBERHT swords), or piled/laminated iron/steel;  properly forged and quenched (i.e., takes an edge properly, isn't too soft or too brittle).  Ornamentation and embellishment not necessary.  In short, a well made weapon that a knight would be proud to carry into combat, but not a gold-hilted, jewel-encrusted sword a king would carry during ceremonial duties.
Time Period:  600 C.E. - 1400 C.E.
Monetary value:  Any currency is acceptable, but for convenience, provide an estimate of the 2016 equivalent value.

What would a European warrior pay for a sword like this, and how much would that price equate to today?


texts: What proof would a Roman patrician have of his status?

texts:
Consider this scenario. You're a Roman patrician, born and raised in Rome. Your parents have retired to their villa in Sicily which you have personally never seen. Suddenly word arrives that they're both dead. You travel down to the villa to claim it for yourself as their lawful heir. What proof would you have to, or be able to, present, of your identity?

Or:

You're a patrician. Someone accuses you of being a pretender and/or impostor - or maybe even a slave. How would you contest that? What proof would you have to present of your status?


texts:
I have this beautiful painting and I am curious who the artist is?  There is a signature on bottom rhs but I am having trouble reading it.

thanks


texts:
Did Hitler ever tell a joke, and was it funny? Was it recorded on video or audio? 3-4 different people commented on a comic claiming the artist is a Neo-Nazi. I don't see what that has to do with anything because the comic itself had nothing to do with Nazism and was funny. However it made me wonder if 'literally Hitler' ever expressed a sense of humor and did people find it funny?

I found this question: What was Hitler like in private? but it didn't mention jokes or humor or comedy. The referenced Wiki page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler%27s_Table_Talk also did not mention them.

According to the movie Downfall, he seemed rather serious.


texts: Was the Zimmerman Telegram a ruse on the US or a way of Germany to incite Mexico to declare war on the US?

texts:
Prior to America's entry into WWI the Zimmerman Telegram was one incident that helped push America to declare war against Germany and join the Allies.

While Mexico never fought against the US, so was this even a possibility?

I don't know how strong Mexico was at the time. Everything I have read says it was not able to sustain a war of any kind against the US. And considering how far Germany was: would there have been any way for Germany to give aid?

The telegram seems more a ruse on the US than a way for Germany to incite Mexico to wage war on the US and distract the US from the war in Europe.


texts: Did the German authorities respell Polish names to be more German during the time of the German Empire?

texts:
How were Polish names handled by Prussian and German authorities during the times of the German empire? It is well known there was intense Germanisation throughout the area, for example all location names down to the street name were Germanized.

It is hard to find information about mandates or laws on individual family names and given names.

Did the authorities force a German-style spelling on existing family names and/or given names of the Polish population, and did they force new children names and their surnames also to be Germanized? Or rather, did people voluntary alter their name as the society back then made them feel shame for being of Polish roots?

Were there only respelling (example Stanisław  -> Stanislaus) or was there also translations based on meaning (example Nowak -> Neumann)?

Contextually I am especially interested in the Upper Silesia region.

How did the Polish authorities find the original Polish form of Germanized names when Poland was restored in 1918 on German territory, and later when Poland annexed a huge part of Germany in 1945 (for the people with Polish roots which were allowed to say and become naturalized)?


texts:
According to this article, Roman dice did not always have the modern cube-shaped form:

  [I]n contrast with modern dice, they weren’t always exactly cubes.
  Sometimes they were noticeably a bit flatter than a true cube, or a
  bit longer, making them more likely to fall on some faces than on
  others.

A possible explanation is provided:

  Did it matter to game players that these dice were not fair? “We don’t
  know for sure,” Eerkens says. The way Romans wrote about dice falls
  suggests they were regarded as signs of supernatural favor or of a
  player’s fortune, however. The archaeologist Ellen Swift, in her book
  Roman Artifacts and Society, writes that high rolls had associations
  of benevolence and felicity, and that rolling three sixes at the same
  time seems to have been called a Venus. “Dice potentially played an
  important role in conceptualizing divine action in the world,” she
  writes.

  If you thought that your prayers had more to do with a roll’s outcome
  than anything else, perhaps a perfect shape wasn’t required. Eerkens
  says, “Some of the non-symmetry that we see in the earlier dice might
  be a by-product [of the idea] that it wasn’t thought to be very
  important in the function of the dice—that it didn’t matter too much,
  because other things were controlling whether you would win or lose
  the game.”

This is ingenious but also a but tenuous, in my opinion.

I have an alternative explanation: as is well known, dice were made of bones and bones naturally tend to have an elongated shape.

Is there some known research on this subject?


texts: Names of the 'little ships' requisitioned by Navy for Dunkirk Evacuation?

texts: Since the small ships requisitioned for the evacuation of Dunkirk were selected by the Royal Navy or a branch of the Admiralty, there must be a list of vessels so requisitioned.  I ask for this information since various figures are given from 700 small ships to 1300.  How can we find the truth?


texts: When is it okay to use the word "Indian" when meaning "Native American?"

texts: It has always been a personal pet peeve of mine when Native Americans are referred to as "Indians." It has nothing to do with respect for Native Americans or political correctness; it is entirely about actual correctness. Calling them Indians means having to actually differentiate between Indians, from the subcontinent of India, and Indians, from the Americas. It seems like laziness is the biggest factor. It is far easier to say and write/type "Indian" than "Native American." But, my History teacher and even my textbook both use the word "Indian." Is this really acceptable practice in higher education (it's my freshman year)? Is it accepted in academia in general?


texts: What were the long-term effects of Reconstruction in the South?

texts:
After the American Civil War, the South was in ruins and there was doubt about how the Southern states would treat newly freed slaves. So the US government instituted a 15-year policy known as Reconstruction, in which the military was stationed in the South in order to maintain law and order now that the Confederate government was gone, help rebuild the infrastructure after the devastation of the war, and ensure the equal treatment of whites and blacks, for instance concerning the ability to vote.  Reconstruction is widely viewed as a failure; the South suffered from a lot of exploitative Northern entrepreneurs known as "carpetbaggers", and in the end the South reverted to unequal treatment of blacks through Jim Crow laws.
But my question is, what were the long-term effects of Reconstruction, particularly on Southern whites?  The reason I ask is this lyric from Brad Paisley's widely criticized song "Accidental Racist":

They called it Reconstruction,
fixed the buildings, dried some tears.
We're still sifting through the rubble,
after 150 years.

Is there any truth to what Paisley is saying? Presumably he's not referring to literal rubble, but is the South still suffering from some negative consequences of Reconstruction?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You in Advance
EDIT:  You can listen to "Accidental Racist" here:
http://youtu.be/KSurzeGvPrQ


texts:
I noticed on the Wikipedia article for the Vigenere cipher, that:

  The Vigenère (French pronunciation: [viʒnɛːʁ]) cipher has been
  reinvented many times. The method was originally described by Giovan
  Battista Bellaso in his 1553 book La cifra del. Sig. Giovan Battista
  Bellaso; however, the scheme was later misattributed to Blaise de
  Vigenère in the 19th century, and is now widely known as the "Vigenère
  cipher".[citation needed]

But, as it says, there is no citation.

Is it commonly known that the Vigenere cipher was first written about by Bellaso? I would be interested in seeing a source for this claim.


texts: What are good predictors of the construction year of residential buildings?

texts:
I follow a suggestion from a question on meta stackexchange to ask about actual, physical architecture here. I hope that is acceptable.

I am interested in the information and features which a knowledgeable observer, e.g. architect or real estate agent, would require to reach an informed estimation on the construction period of a building which is within his/her area of expertise.

conditions:

no information of the construction materials
no access to the interior of the buildings
only residential building
only ordinary buildings from the general building stock (no outstanding features)
allowed is information on the exterior, i.e. facade (from pictures or in situ inspection)
allowed is information on the topology of the area , e.g. surrounding buildings (again no information on the age), distance from city center ...

A little background to this question: I want to train a machine learning algorithm to recognize construction periods of buildings in order to use the information for building energy simulations. Here is a similar study.

Experiences from any geographic region are welcome.


texts: Was there a way for ships to disengage from boarding actions?

texts:
I was doing some research about Naval tactics in Age of Sail - especially in boarding tactics. I read several personal diaries, letters and accounts of these battles written by combatants. From captain perspective to landsmen's. In near every account the narrator talked about how everything got tangled together and ships became "as one".
Does this mean that boarding action was irreversible move in battle which could end up only with victory or loss? It seems like once it started it was near impossible to disengage. I am asking because there were several battles where Captain hid his crew in compartments and managed to bait enemy Captain into boarding action - which backfired (thanks to the ruse) and battle was won by the losing side.
Was there any way to disengage from boarding action or there was not any and that is reason why historical seamen accounts do not talk about it?


texts: What unknown laws were mentioned in earlier Coronation Oaths of England?

texts:
In 1688, the English Parliament passed the Coronation Oath Act, establishing a new Coronation Oath for monarchs of England.  This Coronation Oath, with some modifications, is still used in the United Kingdom to this day.  In any case, the preamble to the act explains the reason for a new Coronation Oath:

  Whereas by the Law and Ancient Usage of this Realme the Kings and Queens thereof have taken a Solemne Oath upon the Evangelists at Their respective Coronations to maintaine the Statutes Laws and Customs of the said Realme and all the People and Inhabitants thereof in their Spirituall and Civill Rights and Properties But forasmuch as the Oath itselfe on such Occasion Administred hath heretofore beene framed in doubtfull Words and Expressions with relation to ancient Laws and Constitutions at this time unknowne To the end therefore that One Uniforme Oath may be in all Times to come taken by the Kings and Queens of this Realme and to Them respectively Adminstred at the times of Their and every of Their Coronation.

I'm interested in the part in bold.  My question is, what are the "ancient Laws and Constitutions" referenced by earlier versions of the Coronation Oath of England?

Now the act does call them "at this time unknowne", so it's possible that we don't have access to the text of these laws anymore than the people of 1688 did.  (Although it's equally possible that historical scholarship on the subject has improved in the past 300 years.) But we do have earlier Coronation Oaths of England, so does anyone know if they mention any specific names of ancient laws or constitutions?


texts: How did Vasco da Gama know about the Southern Cross?

texts:
It is said that the precession cycle of the Earth's axis takes about 26,000 years to complete. It is also said that the ancient Greeks could see Crux (aka the Southern Cross) from where they lived. It is a constellation resembling a cross:

It is also believed that Vasco da Gama was the first European in a long time to see it as he traveled south along the African coast, but he somehow expected to see it. There were rumors and legends about it.

Wouldn't this mean that he, and the astronomers of his time, knew about precession (almost a century before the advent of Kepler's and Galileo's theories)?


texts:
I once read that the Romans were masters of building roads that stretched long distances in a straight line like the Fosse Way road in Britain.

I never thought much of it until I watched Canada & The United States: Bizarre Borders Part 2 where the person mentions that the border is about as straight as a pre-GPS civilization could make, and as someone who has never attempted to draw a straight line over a long distance, I never thought of all of the problems that you would run into.

How did the Romans build straight roads that stretched very long distances?


texts: Did the US manage to eavesdrop on KMT communications during World War 2?

texts:
I was reading How frequently did the KMT use telegrams to communicate; from where (roughly) and to whom?, which contains a quote:

  Following is a telegram code "dictionary" used by Japan military that already decoded the Chiang Kai-shek KMT army telegram code during World war 2. Even USA military know about such "open code", but USA never notify Chiang Kai-shek about the issue of leaking military secret, because USA itself want to know KMT army movement.

(Original source of quote)

However, no citation is provided, so I'm not sure if the quote's assertions are correct. I remember having read something vaguely similar, possibly in connection with the "China hands". So my question is: is it known if the US managed to eavesdrop on KMT communications during World War 2?


texts: Did the Roman senate immediately send new governors after the death of proconsuls/propraetors?

texts:
I would like to know whether the Roman senate sent replacements for deceased governors (due to illness, accident, war, ...) immediately after hearing of their death or was content to entrust the province to the senior officers present.
When Crassus died in Syria, Cassius (quaestor) took charge of the province until a new proconsul arrived. But was the new governor sent immediately?
I have several options in mind:

The province was left to the senior officer (quaestor or senior legate?) until the following year
A magistrate in Rome (Praetor/Consul) immediately left office to take control of the province (in this case, were praetors/consuls suffect elected?)
A former magistrate was sent to control the province for what was left of the year, being a kind of "proconsul suffect"
A former magistrate who was supposed to get a province anyway the following year left sooner and thus ruled the province for a longer period of time than scheduled
A governor of a nearby province could control the "empty" province as well as his own
Everyone in the province had to make do till a new governor arrived


texts:
The wikipedia entry for blowguns currently states that blowguns were historically used to hunt small wild game and only rarely used as an anti-personnel armament. This made me wonder if there are any historical records mentioning any of these rare cases where blowguns were used in a combat setting against other humans.

Which people ever used blowguns in a "military" setting?


texts: Did any Native Americans adopt a script from Europe (before being assimilated)?

texts:
As far as I know, no Native Americans developed their own written language. (Correct me if I'm wrong. There may have been some numeral systems, but that's all I'm aware of.)

So now I'm wondering if any tribe ever adopted the alphabets of English, Spanish, French, Russian, or any other European language?

I know some natives learned these languages, and presumably some of them learned to read/write in addition to speaking it. This would provide an opportunity for a tribe to adopt the alphabet if they wanted, without being totally assimilated.

P.S. I'm using the broadest definition of Native American. The native can be anywhere from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Central America or Caribbean, and of course the mainland continents. Basically anywhere in North or South America.


texts: Did the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki contribute to Japan's surrender?

texts:
Even before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the war situation had developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage. Allied forces had been taking island after island, and were firebombing dozens of cities to the ground. So I assume the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki wasn't the sole cause of Japan's surrender. But did it contribute to Japan's surrender?

A sizeable proportion of Americans apparently believe that the bombing contributed to Japan's surrender. Even some who disapprove of the atomic bombing think it contributed to Japan's surrender. From Majority Supports Use of Atomic Bomb on Japan in WWII, 57% approved of the bombing and 38% disapprove, and 80% think that the bombing saved American lives, so at least 18% (38 + 80 - 100) both disapprove of the bombing and think it saved American lives. (As a side note, at the time of the war, there was some public sentiment in favour of more bombing regardless of whether it was necessary: 22.7% of the population in December 1945 wished more bombs had been dropped before it could surrender)

I've come across articles claiming that the atomic bombing didn't contribute to Japan's surrender, but they've usually been by people with some potential bias against the bombing. For example I've read (the now paywalled) The Bomb Didn't Beat Japan - Stalin Did (referring to the USSR's war against Japan) which, according to a comment in the question "How many lives were estimated to have been saved by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs?", was by a lifetime opponent of nuclear weapons.

The question How many lives were estimated to have been saved by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs? is related, but it's assuming that the atomic bombing contributed to Japan's surrender, and is asking about the costs and benefits of doing it.


texts: From the Wikipedia article on leap years, it appears that calendar systems that predated the Romans accounted for leap days, but do we know which calendar was the first to introduce a leap day, and if so, which year in human history was truly the first leap year?


texts: Why was the Republican government of Spain so slow to react to the Nationalist revolt?

texts:
I have been reading the Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor.  One of the arguments the author makes is that the first 48 hours of the July 17th military uprising was the most vital period in which a strong government response could have crushed the nationalist rebellion.  However, despite knowledge of the uprising the government Quiroga seemed completely unwilling to take the necessary action of arming the workers.  In a message released the next day from Madrid notes the lack of urgency felt by the Republican government, "The government states that the movement is confined to certain areas in the Protectorate [Morocco] and that no one, absolutely no one, on the mainland has joined this absurd venture".[Beevor, 2006]

Despite this, there appears to have been numerous Republican generals and members of the CNT and UGT trade unions who warned the government to the intentions of the nationalists plotters of Sanjurjo, Mola, and Franco.  It seems implausible that the government of Spain could be so blind to what was going on in Morocco.  Granted I doubt that the more moderate socialists and liberals in the Republican government wanted to arm the workers and there seems to have been attempts to negotiate peace, but there seems to be more at play here.  Why didn't the Republican government attempt some sort of possible military response to the right wing rebellion?


texts: Was classical Alexandria really this brutal and class-segregated?

texts:
"The Perniciously Persistent Myths of Hypatia and the Great Library" by David Bentley Hart in the journal First Things claims that while Hypatia was indeed murdered by a mob of angry Christians, this doesn't really reflect on the Christian culture of the time so much as it does on the class-segregated culture of classical Alexandria and the brutality of the lower classes at the time.

...some of the savages of the lower city decided to take matters into their own hands....
...the true story of Hypatia... [tells] us a great deal about social class in the late Hellenistic world.
Think of it as an ideal Marxist allegory. It may seem unimaginable to us now that Christians from the lower classes in late antique Alexandria could have conspired in the horrific assassination of an unarmed woman and a respected scholar, but, as it happens, that was how Alexandria was often governed at street level, by every sect and persuasion.
In the royal quarter, pagans, Christians, and Jews generally studied together, shared a common intellectual culture, collaborated in scientific endeavor, and attended one another’s lectures. In the lower city, however, religious allegiance was often no more than a matter of tribal identity, and the various tribes often slaughtered one another with gay abandon.

Is this characterization of ancient Alexandria accurate?


texts:
The Wikipedia page of Aristotle has the following image of him:

How do we know that the bust represents Aristotle? For example, some ancient writers describe him as having small eyes, which is contrary to how he is represented by the bust?


texts: Why didn't the Chinese attack Hungnam during the evacuation?

texts:
The Hungnam evacuation was a notable event during the early years of the Korean War. Retreating to the port of Hungnam from the recent defeat at Chosin Reservoir, UN forces managed to evacuate about 100,000 troops and about 86,000 refugees to South Korea, in what's also known as the Miracle of Christmas. This was partly due to the lack of any large scale enemy attacks.

Why didn't the PVA or KPA attack during the evacuation? The source that Wikipedia uses, Mossman, Billy (1988). United States Army in the Korean War: Ebb and Flow November 1950-July 1951, offers these explanations:

  None of the enemy strikes on the perimeter did more than penetrate some outposts, and counterattacks rapidly eliminated these gains. So far, all action appeared to be only an attempt to reconnoiter the perimeter. Several explanations for the enemy's failure to make a larger effort were plausible. The bulk of the Chinese in the Changjin Reservoir area apparently were taking time-probably forced to take time-to recuperate from losses suffered in the cold weather and recent battles. All enemy forces undoubtedly were aware that the X Corps was evacuating Hungnam and that they would be able to enter the city soon without having to fight their way in. The contraction of the corps perimeter probably forced the enemy to repeat his reconnaissance. Artillery fire, naval gunfire, and ample close air support may well have prevented the enemy from concentrating sufficient strength for strong attacks. Whatever the reasons, enemy forces had not yet launched a large-scale assault.

That is:

The Chinese were recuperating from losses
The rapid contraction of the defensive perimeter forced repeated reconnaisance
Fire support prevented the enemy from gathering forces

These are plausible - particularly since the 9th Army Group was badly mauled during the previous battle - being "put out of action for three months". Nevertheless, these are conjectures, and I was curious if there's more solid evidence for the lack of large scale attack.


texts: The first use of submarines, and the appearance of "modern" submarines

texts:
The first submarines surfaced (excuse the pun) during or around the American Civil War. The question I have comes in a few parts:

Did the submarines seen in the American Civil War prompt any change in tactics for surface ships to counter them?
What was the first "modern" military submarine, and what effect did it have on military thinking at the time?
While the first ship to have been sunk by a submarine was the USS Housatonic, the submarine in question was, understandably, extremely basic. When was the first successful attack by "modern"* submarine, and what ship was attacked?
Finally, when originally inventing the submarine was there an aim other than gaining military advantage?

*Modern = motorized, with powered torpedoes etc.