texts: Before and during WW2, how were war games played?

texts:
One example that I've gleaned from this website accounts a Japanese war game for the Battle of Midway:

  In the tabletop manoeuvres, for example, a situation developed in which the Nagumo Force underwent a bombing attack by enemy land-based aircraft while its own planes were off attacking Midway. In accordance with the rules, Lieutenant Commander Okumiya, Carrier Division 4 staff officer who was acting as an umpire, cast dice to determine the bombing results and ruled that there had been nine enemy hits on the Japanese carriers...

I would like to know how such war games were played in this era. Did they alternate turns or take both turns simultaneously? How were the odds calculated, e.g., that a carrier strike would succeed? Did they keep track of things like remaining fuel and munitions? Was weather simulated?

I'm interested in land, sea, and air battles, and from all of the major belligerents (not just Japan). But I could not find mentionings of other war games or military exercises played by, e.g., Patton, Manstein, Zhukov, Dowding, etc. Sadly it's nigh impossible to google, as every keyword seems to be interpreted as if I wanted a modern computer "war game" like Hearts of Iron 4 or something. That's not what I want. I want to know the rules of a real war game played before and during WW2, that real generals played. What were the rules of those games?


texts: How accurate did medieval historians think histories to be?

texts: How accurate were histories thought to be by medieval historians? What constituted the historical record? Did folk lore and songs carry as much weight as the churches' histories or other written documents?


texts: Army formation: veterans at the first line

texts:
I am trying to understand the early roman legion deployment. I can see some advantages to putting the inexperienced warriors at the first line and the veterans at the last.

But have there been armies, that put the most experienced soldiers in the front row consistently? What are the advantages to such an approach?


texts: What did Hitler mean with the following statement about Franco?

texts:
The following was quoted in Albert Speer's diary entry for 26 December 1950 recalling a conversation with Hitler in January 1943 (Albert Speer, Spandau: The Secret Diary (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2000), p. 167):

  You know my opinion of Franco... We ought to keep these Red Spaniards on the back burner... They're lost to democracy, and to that reactionary crew round Franco too... I believe you to the letter, Speer, that they were impressive people. I must say, in general, that during the civil war the idealism was not on Franco's side; it was to be found among the Reds ... one of these days we'll be able to make use of them... The whole thing will start all over again. But with us on the opposite side.

Who are the impressive people, the Facists or the Reds? And who did he want to make use of? And what does he mean with the last part: "The whole thing will start all over again. But with us on the opposite side"?

All I know about this is that the Falange Española (the center of Spanish fascism, appropriated by Franco) based their ideology on Italian fascism, and that the Italians despised Hitler as not properly fascist. And I guess they were right since nazism has characteristics of socialism. Because of this the quote intrigues me.


texts: A large amount of history has been derived from diaries. Were diaries more commonly kept in the past? If so, why?


texts: Is there a factual basis for the character of Morgan le Faye from the King Arthur tale?

texts: What real life person, persons, or events was Morgan le Faye, cast as an evil enchantress in most King Arthur tales, based on?


texts: What effect did tanks have on warfare strategies upon their introduction?

texts: After the introduction of the tank in WW1, what effect did their introduction have on how battles were carried out, and strategies were formulated?


texts: Why is Anubis given a scarf in some representations?

texts:
Two links containing images of Anubis with scarf;

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anubis_Shrine

https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anubis

In some representations Anubis wears what seems to be a scarf. Why is he wearing a ‘scarf’ around his neck? Anubis seems only to wear it in dog/jackal form and in relation to shrines.


texts: What was the world's largest religion in 1500?

texts:
Prior to the colonization of the Americas and Africa by the West, it appears somewhat unlikely that Christianity was the largest religion in the world. If I am not mistaken, the majority of the world's Christians (over 90%) lay at this time in Europe.

According to Wikipedia, South Asia and East Asia had much larger populations than Europe. Since South Asia was mostly either Hindu or Buddhist (with Muslims being a very small minority) and East Asia a combination of Confucian/Buddhist/Taoist..etc, does it not follow that one of these was the major religion? If we add Islam into the equation, it is also apparent that Muslims were perhaps the most geographically widespread community on the globe at the time, stretching from Morocco to Kazakhstan to the Malay Archipelago. However, it does not necessarily follow that they were the most populous.

Either way, it appears to me highly unlikely that Christianity was the largest religion in the world at this time. Even a cursory look at the statistics makes this situation improbable.

Christianity according to ChristianityView became the largest religion in the world only in 1900. This is for me more rational, due to the Russian intrusions into deep Siberia in the 16th century and further Christianization of these areas and of course the North and South Americas along with many large chucks of Africa being converted to Christianity. In 1800, the page suggests that Chinese folk-religionists were the largest religious group. I don't know exactly with what evidence this has been suggested but was this true for 1500 also? Can someone verify the data provided by this page?

With all matter aside, it appears that nobody has actually considered this problem more rigorously. It would be extremely interesting if it was to be dealt with.


texts: What corrections did the Catholic church make to the Copernicus work "De revolutionibus"?

texts:
Catholic encyclopedia says:

  On 5 March, 1616, the work of Copernicus was forbidden by the Congregation of the Index "until corrected", and in 1620 these corrections were indicated. Nine sentences, by which the heliocentric system was represented as certain, had to be either omitted or changed. This done, the reading of the book was allowed.

I wonder what the corrections were exactly? Did they negate the theory or just represent it as doubtful or hypothetical?


texts: What profession(s) would have used this folding 'ruler'?

texts:
This ruler was originally handed down to an aunt on my (English) mother's side of the family. One side is a standard ruler in inches but, curiously, the other side is unlike anything I've been able to find on Google images.

One side has inches. Many such such rulers can be found on the internet.

The other side seems to be for prices (lettering includes L S D, presumably pounds, shillings, pence).

This close up shows D and L on one section, then S and D on the other.

Resolution and contrast are not ideal. The faint numbers in the 'S' column between the very clear '17' and '11' on the upper half appear to be 19-2-4-6-9.

The wooden folding ruler also shown here is a Rabone Boxwood N°1380 (of no particular value or interest I think).

The earliest known owner was a great aunt (born 1876, died 1941); we don't know who (if anyone) owned it before her or how she obtained it. Nor do we know anything about her, other than that she had several brothers and that she never married. This great aunt's father (b.1831, d.1904) was a member of FRIBA (Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects).

The ruler is ivory and has, in tiny letters on one side, the name Joseph Mackness. It is unclear if this is the name of manufacturer (Googling hasn't turned up any manufacturers of this name) or the original owner. There are some people with the name Joseph Mackness on Ancestry.com but none seem to fit the likely time-frame (Victorian or Edwardian), and there are no known Macknesses in our family.

Given the numerous examples of ivory and bone folding 'rulers' that can be found online, many for different purposes / professions, it is puzzling that I can't find any examples with D and L S D. This might indicate that it is quite rare, which seems strange if its function was related to prices; (presumably) many thousands of shopkeepers, customs officers etc. would have found it useful, which means it shouldn't be rare.

One explanation suggested by a family member is that it is a presentation item, souvenir or retirement gift, never intended for actual use.

Was this folding 'ruler' used by shopkeepers, customs officers or some other profession? Or is it a presentation item or souvenir?

I'd also be interested if anyone could put a narrower date range on it than (I think) Victorian to Edwardian.


texts: What does "setting up a trophy" mean in ancient Greece 5th century B.C.?

texts:
I'm reading Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War and time and a gain armies are said to "set up a trophy" on a site.

What does that mean? What was concretely done at the site where a trophy was set up? Was it a religious event, did it have any legal or military significance? They don't seem to always be set up after a decisive victory, but sometimes just before a fleet leaves an island, for example.


texts: Søren Norby was the Seignor of Iceland 1515-1517. However, I can't find any information on whether he actually ever visited Iceland, had any actual powers in this role or if the position was a sinecure.


texts: Were there any elections under the Vichy regime?

texts:
My question is as in the title: during the Vichy regime in France, from July 1940 to, say, June 1944 were there any official election of any kind - for mayors, lawmakers, etc? If none, do you have a reference? If yes, what were they for, how were they organized, and who got elected?

(I was not able to find any information on this question on google)


texts: Was any Medieval state ever "partially" Roman Catholic?

texts:
It is my understanding that in most of (if not all) the states in western medieval Europe the Roman Catholic church was the only recognized religious body.

I'm looking for an example of a state with recognized Roman Catholic presence (priests and bishops with Papal investiture) but where there was at least one other dominant and recognized religious body (or at least presence if it wasn't as organized).

My understanding of medieval history is pretty basic so it could be that my question is either silly or wrong or both in which case I apologize.


texts: Would Hannibal's men have known about his strategies?

texts:
At things like the battle of Lake Trasimene, Cannae, etc. Hannibal's plans always seemed to involve some degree of offering some form of bait to the Romans, some group of men the Romans were (accurately) expected to chase, or focus on, or whatever.

Thus, given this commonality in Hannibal's plans, I'm curious; would his men have actually known that that was their role? Or were they just doing as their higher ups said; and would this have been similar for the Romans?


texts: How do you estimate world population of 1000 years ago?

texts: I watched this video and now I am curious. They show the population of the world 1000 years ago and they also have a population distribution map. How do you estimate something like that? And is the distribution map just a guess or is there some reasoning involved? And if I were to do something similar with my country's data where would you suggest I start?


texts: What did "Dr." after a person's or a business's name mean around the turn of the 20th century in the USA?

texts: I am putting together a historical presentation about a late-19th / early 20th-century U. S. ruralite who was involved in many things including operating a general store. I have seen the abbreviation "Dr." on an invoice after the name of a business which sold Kodak film to him April 3, 1945. Then I see "Dr." after the fellow's name on invoices that were to be issued by the fellow himself. In these cases, what is the meaning of "Dr."?


texts:
It is discussed in several books that the CIA had a mole in Indira Gandhi's cabinet around the time of the Liberation war for Bangladesh in 1971. There are conflicting reports about who the mole could be. In spite of several denials and claims, it does not seem apparent who the person might have been.

Anuj Dhar in his book writes-

  "Declassified records make it unambiguously clear that the month-long
  show of strength by the USS Enterprise and accompanying flotilla was a
  byproduct of the CIA operative's reports,".

He reproduces chunks from official records detailing how Nixon ordered a naval task force towards the subcontinent to "scare off" India from attacking West Pakistan.

In subsequent years, former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, and two deputy PMs - Jagjivan Ram and Y B Chavan - were alleged to be the CIA operative active during the 1971 war.

  "The final twist in the tale came in 1988 in Bombay. … Now defunct
  newspaper Independent carried a story reportedly based on a (R&AW)
  communication to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi exonerating Morarji Desai
  and implicating deceased stalwart Yashwant Rao Chavan, Finance
  Minister during the 1971 war. This led to an ugly uproar and the
  paper's editor Vinod Mehta, in his words, ‘had to flee Bombay'."

Has there been any further revelations or declassifications which throw light on this matter?


texts: Why is the Spanish-American War not called the Spanish-Cuban-American War?

texts:
Cuba was at war with Spain since 2/24/1895. In fact, it was the third war against Spain for their independence. US arrived to the war in 1898, after the Maine's explosion. Very wise when Cubans had the war almost won.

But the other side of the history is that this war is known as Guerra hispano-cubano-norteamericana in the period when US entered in the war.


texts: When and why did "Near East" become "Middle East?"

texts:
Wikipedia:

The Middle East is a transcontinental region in Afro-Eurasia which
generally includes Western Asia (except for Transcaucasia), all of
Egypt (mostly in North Africa), and Turkey (partly in Southeast
Europe). The term has come into wider usage as a replacement of the
term Near East (as opposed to the Far East) beginning in the early
20th century. [...] The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion
over its changing definitions.

Why and when did this definition change? If "East" means Asia, then clearly Turkey, Syria, Israel, Iraq, etc. (which are often referred to as "Middle East") are not in the middle of Asia. The middle would be countries like India, Kazakhstan and Nepal. (And then the "Far East" would be Korea, Japan, etc; which it is in general usage.) In the past, as above, this region was called the "Near East," which seems to make more sense. Additionally, the Wikipedia definition including part of Southeast Europe would further work against calling it "middle."
One could of course use an absolute description and call this region (excluding North Africa) "Southwest Asia" (Northwest Asia being in Russia, which is another can of worms as to the "Europe or Asia" question), but that term does not seem to be in wide use outside of the US military.


texts: Did Herman Melville help write his uncle's book?

texts:
Captain John D'Wolf II (1779-1872), member of a prominent slave-trading family of Bristol, Rhode Island, was the uncle of author Herman Melville (1819-1891). D'Wolf informed Melville's view of life at sea: he appears in "Moby Dick" (1851) as an experienced ship captain.

In his twenties, D'Wolf was the first United States citizen to cross Siberia. In his eighties, he wrote a fabulous book called A voyage to the North Pacific and a journey through Siberia more than half a century ago (1861). Melville is not mentioned in the text; Melville's biography says that D'Wolf made him a gift of a copy, supposedly one of an edition of only one hundred.

I wonder if an ancient ship captain could write a first-class travelogue like this without the support of a professional author. Did Melville help D'Wolf with his book?


texts: Which eras have historians proposed that we are currently living in?

texts:
This is something that I've been researching for the past few weeks and have found a few answers, but I assume I'm missing a few of them.

Basically, the question is this:

In which ways have modern historians defined our current era?

Not sure how to tag this one if mods could do an edit that'd be great.

Edit: The duplicate that was proposed seems to be asking about the distinction between the classical eras historians have defined we are currently living in. Whereas I'm interested in any and all definitions that historians have proposed, which may be more esoteric and obscure than the obvious ones like 'modern' and 'information age'


texts: How did historians find out about the undoctored version of Stalin's doctored photographs?

texts: Stalin ordered some photographs to be altered because his enemies were in it. How did historians get their hands on the undoctored version? Because many a sources describe this as erasing the people from history by erasing them from the photographs. so how did they get their hand son the original?


texts:
How is the photography printing on newpaper is possible in the WW2 era?

For example, how is the photo on the newpaper at the below link is possible especially on HD quality?

http://www.grahamcounty.net/vetweb/newspaper/np13.htm


texts: Why was Hesse south of the Main left out of the North German Confederation?

texts:
When the North German Confederation was founded after the Austro-Prussian war, it included all German states north of the Main, including the part of Hesse that was north of the Main. However the southern part South of the Main was not included in the new Confederation.

What was the reason for this, if any?


texts: Which Field Marshal famously used to fire Staff Officers if they could not write orders within two pages?

texts:
I recall a military anecdote which described a Field Marshal who considered Officers ineffectual if they were unable to write concisely.

I believe the standard applied was that all plans or orders should be kept to a maximum of two pages.

Which Field Marshal is this anecdote about? Is there any truth to this tale?


texts: Where did the people of Northern kingdom of Israel go?

texts:
In the 8th century BC Assyrians conquered the Northern kingdom of Israel and exiled its people. This led to the creation of the story of 10 lost tribes that later couldn't find any supporting evidence and was considered a myth.

So my question is where have the people gone (aside from any biblical narrative please) ? Did they move to Judah or were they moved far away and got dissolved in other societies ? Or what else ?


texts: Why did people in the USSR participate in elections?

texts:
It is well known that the elections in the USSR had only one candidate on the list, giving no real choice to the voter.

While it was possible to vote against a candidate, there was no realistic chance that the voter would be in the majority so that the candidate to fail.
Even more, there were much more effective means in acting against a politician: appealing to the local party office, then to a higher one, then possibly to the press, then to the authoritative people, and finally maybe to the prosecutor's office if any supposed crime is suspected (and just some above-average lifestile or improper behavior could be quite a sufficient reason for investigation or exclusion from the party). Voting against would be totally pointless.

That said, there was no punishment for non-participating (unlike North Korea by the way where voting is mandatory). Yet a lot of people participated in the elections. Moreover, the elections turnout in the USSR was much higher than the turnout in modern Russia where you can vote many ways for various politicians.

What was the reason for such high turnout? Some people claim it was because one could buy deficit foods at the voting points, but this does not seem a completely satisfactory explanation to me especially given that the practice of offering food at the voting posts was changing with time and reached the height in late USSR.


texts: Escape attempts from Elmira POW Camp (Civil War)

texts: My great-grandfather was a POW held first at Point Lookout and transferred to Elmira.  Family legend has it that he attempted an escape digging a tunnel with a spoon.  I know that there were seventeen successful escapes from Elmira, but I can't find anything on attempted escapes.  Were escape attempts documented?  If so where can these records be found?


texts: When did it become accepted to tilt your soup bowl?

texts:
If this is the wrong SE, please tell me and I'll move it to the correct one. I couldn't find anything more specific.

My mother and I are having a bit of an argument.

Emily Post, my cotillion training, and the internet at large agree: if you want the last bit of soup, you tilt the bowl away from you.

My mother disagrees (born 1953, her mother 1921, her mother 1891). She claims it's a Victorian etiquette rule, but I can't find anything that confirms  nor denies this.

Is there a set point (or etiquette publication) when tilting your soup bowl became accepted? Is there a similar record of it being denounced?


texts:
Antiquities XX, 8, 9

Now when Porcius Festus was sent as successor to Felix by Nero, the
principal of the Jewish inhabitants of Cesarea went up to Rome to
accuse Felix; and he had certainly been brought to punishment, unless
Nero had yielded to the importunate solicitations of his brother
Pallas, who was at that time had in the greatest honor by him. Two of
the principal Syrians in Cesarea persuaded Burrhus, who was Nero’s
tutor, and secretary for his Greek epistles, by giving him a great sum
of money, to disannul that equality of the Jewish privileges of
citizens which they hitherto enjoyed. So Burrhus, by his
solicitations, obtained leave of the emperor that an epistle should be
written to that purpose. This epistle became the occasion of the
following miseries that befell our nation; for when the Jews of
Cesarea were informed of the contents of this epistle to the Syrians,
they were more disorderly than before, till a war was kindled.

I just heard a theory that the Greek Epistles are the New Testament letters commissioned by Nero essentially asserting that Nero (or his wife) created Christianity. I'm not asking whether you are a believer or not (of which I certainly do believe in Christ) rather, is this claim tenable or even seriously considered among academics and scholars? What are the greek epistles Josephus mentions?


texts: Difference between a Bardiche and a Voulge?

texts: After having some interaction with some media involving medieval warfare, I noticed that a Voulge and a Bardiche are very similar in design and (possibly) purpose. I haven't done a full historical research on them, but by looking at some images, they appear to be very similar. What is the difference between them? Time periods, kingdoms to have used them?


texts: Were there industrial tycoons with only daughters? How did they handle inheritance?

texts:
Industrial mogul John D. Rockefeller had three daughters who lived into adulthood, but just one son, born last. His birth was remarked as fortunate, since it meant that JDR would have an heir.

Since the culture of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries was to endow the male heirs with the vast majority of business interests as inheritance, and not to give the daughters any business roles, I am curious about the following:

Were there any other highly successful tycoon-types (think Carnegie, Nobel, Astor, Gould, etc.) who had only female offspring?
If there were any such tycoons, how did they handle matters of inheritance? Did they train their daughters to business roles?

(There's also an unrelated question, slightly beyond the scope of this question: did any industrial tycoons -- regardless of the gender distribution of their offspring -- train their daughters for business roles?)


texts: What is the earliest evidence of contact between Ireland and Egypt?

texts: There is a folk tale of an Egyptian princess in Ireland around 1700 BC. Is there credible evidence of early contact between the two places?


texts: 1900s Vacation between Germany and America

texts: I'm trying to write a novel about a German who vacations to the US with his family around 1905, but was that even possible at that time?  I believe the US had good relations with Germany at the time, but that there were also some developing hostilities between Germany and France that I believe the US was mediating for.  Would that have made vacationing unwise between the two countries?  And would steamships be too expensive for say an upper middle class family from Germany to vacation to the US on?


texts: How many people were there in a average Magdalenian group? (And what about Gravettian groups?)

texts: The book "The Creation of Inequality" (Marcus & Fannery, 2012) says the Magdalenian groups were much larger than the Gravettian groups but doesn't provide a clear number (or I did not find them). Any idea how big they were?


texts:
What part of a King's administrative structure ensures that the Treasury functions as expected, without employees taking advantage of their position (like manipulating accounts and stealing treasure, which in turn leads to the kingdom's collapse)? What stops people from stealing from the treasury, if the king is not going to be there to check all the activities all the time?

I've asked this question in the hope that, the answer to how the King controls his treasury may shed light on how he ensures stability.


texts: Did the fights in the Ip Man movie series actually occur in real life?

texts: In a series of movies called Ip Man 1 and 2, based in WW2, a Wing Chun martial arts master called Ip Man fought with a Japanese general and a western boxer named Twister. Did these events actually happen?


texts: Servitude to hereditary elite out of superstition

texts:
In Thomas Paine's Common Sense he says:

  Most wise men, in their private sentiments, have ever treated hereditary right with contempt; yet it is one of those evils, which when once established is not easily removed; many submit from fear, others from superstition, and the more powerful part shares with the king the plunder of the rest.

What superstitions did the English people hold that lead them to submit to the hereditary elite?


texts: How were 19th century American diplomats paid?

texts:
I just came across this line in H.W. Brands' Andrew Jackson biography, explaining why Jackson was initially uninterested in the presidency: "The pay was good, but the expenses of the office ate up the salary and more" (370).

Apparently, the president had no expense account for official duties until 1949. Presidents still pay for food, entertainment, and White House staff. Before Buchanan's presidency, presidents even had to pay their aides and private secretaries themselves. Presidential protection seems to have been a personal expense as well, with the president hiring bodyguards (e.g. William Crook). The Secret Service was created in 1865 but did not start protecting the president until the McKinley assassination. I assume that presidents paid for their own travel and lodging (which may be why Lincoln stayed at a private residence while visiting Gettysburg). This all explains the many impecunious ex-presidents.

This made me wonder how diplomats were paid. Diplomats also have significant expenses (international travel, rent, entertainment, often unfavorable exchange rates). The European solution was in part to rely on wealthy aristocrats for diplomatic service, but there were far fewer wealthy Americans in this period who could bear such an expense. So when the president would send some Americans over to negotiate a treaty, were these diplomats paid some kind of stipend? Could they submit an expense report and expect to be reimbursed? Were these arrangements regularized or ad hoc (i.e. subject to Congressional lawmaking and appropriations)? Or were diplomats just expected to be independently wealthy?

How shoestring was American diplomacy in the 19th century?


texts: How long was a sea journey from England to East Africa 1868-1877?

texts:
I'm trying to find out how long the sea journey took from England to East Africa in the period 1868-1877. One source I've found suggests something like 3 months earlier in the 1860s. It mentions a departure from Southampton in November 1863 and arrival at an inland mission station on 18 February 1864 (Sheffield Independent, 24 July 1876, page 3). In 1863 the route must have been around the Cape of Good Hope. But the Suez Canal was opened in November 1869. How soon after it opened were passenger ships able to use it? And how much shorter would the journey have been once they could?
I'm particularly interested in one Methodist missionary called Thomas Wakefield. His first wife had a baby at Zanzibar in 1870 when the couple were travelling from England to Mombasa. Given that Zanzibar is south of Mombasa, this suggests that they travelled via the southerly route around the Cape, even though the canal was open by then. So I'm presuming there was maybe a big price difference between the two routes and perhaps people who wanted to save money still took the Cape route. But I haven't been able to find any specific source which backs this up. Any help would be most gratefully received.


texts: How would Zenobia's associates and servants address her?

texts:
After Zenobia's army annexed some of the neighbors' lands, and especially after her conquest of Egypt, how would they address her?

Would they use some sort of honorific? If so, what would it be?


texts: Did the The Fiend/Monster with 21 Faces produce mass hysteria in Japan?

texts:
According to the Wikipedia entry of the Monster with 21 Faces (also named as "Fiend" in some sources), it started just after the very publicized Glico Morinaga case and it

  ... captured the Japanese public's imagination and many commentators refer to this incident as a turning point in Japanese society.

Information on the matter is scarce - at least in the western world. Was this similar to a Jack the Ripper / Zodiac Killer / Son of Sam case where mass hysteria followed alongside concurrent headlines by the media?


texts: In Civil War Reenactments why do people walk across the battlefield

texts:
Mostly all Civil War movies/reenactments you come across a scene that goes as follows...
Union/Confederacy are advancing in an open field towards the enemy but are walking as cannonballs and what not are flying passed. Why are they walking? If it was me I'd be trying to sprint across that open field as quickly as possible. The only reason I can think of, is that they are trying to conserve energy for when they do come in range of the enemy. Is conserving a little energy worth the casualties associated with walking? Is there any truth to that or any other reasons why walking across a battlefield as cannonballs are coming at you is a good idea.


texts: When and how did David become the mascot of Florence?

texts:
My understanding is that David, son of Jesse, King of Israel was the mascot of Florence. And that that was the impetus for Michelangelo's statue being created in the first place.

Certainly David the giant-killer had long been seen as a political figure in Florence, and images of the Biblical hero already carried political implications there.
Wikipedia - David (Michelangelo)

So when, why and how did David become the mascot of the Florentine Republic?


texts: How different were Labour and Conservative party lines on race immigration and empire in around 1962?

texts:
Though obviously I want responses to focus on concrete answers and evidence for the title question, I am ultimately interested in how likely it would have been for the 1962 Commonwealth Immigration Act to have been enacted had Labour been in power.

Of course this raises the interesting issue of the extent to which ideology and stated party lines influences legislation/the extent it did at the time (issues which again, I'm not asking for responses to here)


texts: How could I estimate the total global environmental impact of WWII?

texts:
I've been long wondering, and pondering this question since I've been studying and researching WWII for the last 15 years.

I know this is an impossible calculation to make, but I wonder if anyone has any idea how I might come to some fact or figure on the total environmental impact of WWII.  When I research this, what comes up usually, is just the atomic bombings of Japan.  But, i'm interested in more of the long-term effects.  For example, here is a list of some of the items I've been trying to quantify.

How much lead is in the ground, from the ~180 billion small arms fired, that is now leaching into the groundwater?
How much lead is leaching into the ocean water from the war in the Pacific?
How much oil was spilled into the ocean from all of the merchant shipping sunk in the Atlantic, coupled with all of the oil from the U-Boats that were sunk.
How much heavy metal contamination is entering the oceans from things onboard those sunken vessels, like the lead in the batteries in the U-Boats?
How much CO2, and other toxins that might still be measurable today was released into the atmosphere from all of the fuel that was burned to fly 1,000 plane formations over Germany, and Japan, and to fuel the "Red Ball Express", not to mention all of the tanks, from all sides, ships, trucks, guns, trains, etc.
How much pollution and other toxins that might still be measurable today was released by all of the cities that the Allies burned to the ground?  The 16 square miles of Tokyo, in a single raid that killed more people and did more damage than Little Boy did in Hiroshima.  Add to that, Dresden, and all of the other cities destroyed by firestorms.  Those fires had to release thousands of tons of toxins in the air?
All of the fires from the scorched earth policy employed by both Hitler, and Stalin.

All of that doesn't even take into the account all of the pollution that manufacturing all the weapons of war added as well.  My interest lies in the lasting damage that was done, and what effects it might still be having on the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.  All of that cargo didn't just disappear.  It is still there, slowly decaying, and leaking oils, fuels, grease, and who knows what else.  Not only from the delivery (Liberty) ships, but from the cargo as well.  In the Pacific, all those carriers, battleships, and cruisers, that went down, with all of the HE on board, all of the lead ammo, all of the fuel, and oils on in the planes.  It's actually mind-boggling when you think about it.  Or... Am I wrong?  Are the oceans simply that big, that when you combine everything that ever went down into the ocean, it is just not enough to have a measurable effect of the wildlife, quality of the water, etc?

Japan is a really good example of how Mother Nature heals herself.  But there still has to be some sort of measurable impact of WWII that remains still, to this day, doesn't there?

I realize that coming to some solid numbers is probably an impossible task.  But, best-guesses, and estimates, backed by solid evidence and facts would be fantastic.


texts: What did it mean to be a Grecian in late-18th Century British schools?

texts:
Near the beginning of CS Forester's novel Mr Midshipman Hornblower, which begins in 1793, the titular Hornblower arrives on board his first ship, where the captain asks about his schooling:

"How far did your education go?"
"I was a Grecian at school, sir."
"So you can construe Xenophon as well as Cicero?"
"Yes, sir. But not very well, sir."
"Better if you knew something about sines and cosines. Better if you could foresee a squall in time to get t'gallants in. We have no use for ablative absolutes in the Navy."

From the context it appears that to be a Grecian didn't only mean that he had learnt ancient Greek, but was also a shorthand for a specific level of educational attainment, in the same way as we might talk nowadays about people being a sixth form student.
Hornblower is only 17 at the time of this exchange, so it must be something pre-university, but I cannot find any more information to suggest what being a Grecian actually meant in the late 18th century in England.


texts: How was the relation between the Ottoman Empire and Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro during the Second Balkan War?

texts:
As pointed out by Tom Au in this answer to "Has there ever been a truly multi-sided war?", Turkey fought and lost to Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro in the First Balkan War. However, shortly after this, Bulgaria fought its former allies (the Second Balkan War). Romania and Turkey also joined this war against Bulgaria. I wonder how was the relation between Turkey and those Balkan countries which were its former enemies?

Probably they didn't really run into each other because of the geography, but did they communicate to each other? Was there some hostilities between them, or cooperation?


texts: What's the rationale for shipping coins back to Spain from its colonies?

texts:
Since the days of Pirates! the thought of capturing the Spanish treasure fleet on its way back somewhere in the Spanish Main was a primary target because of all the gold and silver it transported to Spain.

Some of the colonies were rich in gold and silver mines. What seems strange to me is that Potosi was also rich from its mint and that the fleet not only transported raw metal but also coins made from that.

Three examples of many for this scheme are found on the sunken ships from that fleet like the San Jose or the El Salvador, and

  The Mercedes trove is on display at ARQUA. VALEROS
  Spain’s hard-won shipwreck coins finally go on public display in Cartagena

The simplified usual pattern taught in school is that colonies mostly deliver raw material and the motherlands trade with manufactured goods. This seems the other way around.
That Spanish ships transport coins to Europe seems to be an unquestioned given.

So why didn't they ship exclusively this form:

  Source: Atocha Treasure Coins

I didn't find any Spanish historical sources that weighed the arguments for either form and I did not find any concrete number that would make a comparison of the relation between pure metal shipped versus coins shipped feasible. That leaves me theorising and without hard number I am sure my imagined relation of both numbers is not even wrong by means of base-rate-error, as I just do not have any good rate or even representative sample over all. The anecdotal Nuestra Senora de Atocha seems to have carried 255000 coins but 'only' "over one thousand silver bars"

Why bother minting the metal in the colonies, increasing its bulk for transport, when the trade was tightly controlled and regulated? Would it not have saved shipping space to only load raw metal? Cargo space is a limiting factor and while it might not matter where a coin is minted, my current reasoning is that using the raw material for shipping it can be transported from every refinery directly to the port, whereas coins need an extra round to the less numerous mints and then to the ports. Refined metal in rectangular shapes should then also  take less space on the ships then coins.

Is this more like "doesn't really matter with silver" or are there specific reasons?


texts: The question is pretty simple. I'm quite curious about since when we are lucky to have windows with glass in them. And since when is there faint glass that isn't perfectly see-through?


texts: US Citizenship Prior to the 14th Amendment

texts:
Due to some political statements made on October 30th (today), I would like to know how someone became a citizen of the United States prior to the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

There is a related question for how the first American citizens were granted citizenship, which I believe is a different question. First the question dealt with the ratification of the original constitution and those already here. Second, the accepted answer provides evidence to the Articles of Confederation which is a different document to the US Constitution.

An ideal answer would focus on how any person in the United States would become a citizen through the naturalization process. The answer would need to address the time between the ratification of the US Constitution (1789) and the adoption of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (1868).


texts: The act of Settlement 1701 and succession

texts: If the Act of Settlement 1701 did not pass, who then would have been next of kin after the death of Anne of Great Britain?


texts: Why was the battle of Bouvines that incredible?

texts:
I've been looking on some history books, history of the Plantagenets (who were part of this) and history of the Capetians, and I don't see why it was such a shock that Phillip II won the battle of Bouvines.
He wasn't heavily outnumbered, had a lot of trained heavy knights of his demesne with him and didn't have too many vassals to contain.

My point is, the English-led coalition had a LOT of commanders, tired by marching, surprised by the French army presence and on enemy turf, why would people be surprised by Phillip winning? Why would they give him the Augustus surname?

Living in France, I was told in history course he won against "outstanding odds" and that he was an incredible strategist. Looking at it didn't show me these peculiar points...

EDIT :
The sources I've read so far (En français dans le texte):

https://www.cairn.info/revue-historique-2014-3-p-499.htm
https://www.cairn.info/resume.php?download=1&ID_ARTICLE=RHIS_143_0499
http://www.lepoint.fr/culture/il-y-a-800-ans-la-france-naissait-a-bouvines-27-07-2014-1849441_3.php => this one is from a tabloid but it says France was born because of this victory, there is multiple other newspapers on the subject...
https://editions.flammarion.com/Catalogue/au-fil-de-lhistoire/les-plantagenets => John I's chapter talk about this loss and how devastating it was.
http://www.seuil.com/ouvrage/nouvelle-histoire-des-capetiens-dominique-barthelemy/9782020851633 => Phillip II's chapter depict this victory as so incredible that it quelled unrest that plagued the land beforehand.


texts: What conditions have led to Abrahmism splitting into different religions sometimes, but not always?

texts:
What conditions cause the teachings and claimed revelations of certain religious figures in the Abrahamic tradition—e.g. Jesus, Muhammad—to lead to the formation of entire new religions, whilst others—e.g. Joseph Smith, Marcion of Sinope—simply produce sects of existing religions?

Reading up on the development and splintering of Abrahamic religions, I've been trying to work out why some religious leaders' teachings catch on more than others, but there doesn't seem to be an obvious rule. Is it just luck and timing?

Starting with Judaism, with its written and oral myths about the creation of the universe and such.† Jewish thinkers debated these stories and came up with differing interpretations of their lessons, but all remained under the banner of 'Judaism'.

Then, a Jewish man called Yeshua comes along and does the same, teaches and preaches, and is executed. His followers continue to spread his teachings and, over the next hundred years, write down accounts of his life, eventually forming a Christianity that is distinct from Judaism despite sharing the same mythology, rather than a 'Christian Judaism/Abrahamism'.

Later, a Roman man called Marcion of Sinope teaches a form of Christianity that separates the God of the Old Testament from that of the New. Marcionism, however, never gets beyond being considered a sect of Christianity.

Later still, an Arab man called Muhammad claims to have received a divine revelation. Despite the polytheistic background of his pre-Islamic Arab culture, Muhammad's teachings begin with the mythology of Abrahamism and the gospel stories of Jesus. He adds to this his own teachings and this becomes the religion of Islam, rather than 'Muhammadean Christianity/Judaism/Abrahamism'.

Later still, an American man called Joseph Smith claims to have received a divine revelation. Beginning with the mythology of Abrahamism and the gospel stories of Jesus, he adds on some further teaching, and this becomes Mormonism, considered a sect of Christianity.

And a little later, an Indian man called Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claims to have received a divine revelation. He takes the teachings of Islam and adds to them, producing Ahmadiyya, considered a sect of Islam.

Why the inconsistency? It doesn't seem to be number of believers—compare Mormonism's 16m adherents to Judaism's 14–17m.

It doesn't seem to be the teacher's political impact either—Muhammad united the Arab tribes, conquered Mecca and so on, but Jesus never led more than his group of apostles in his lifetime.

Is it really just luck of the draw?

† Presumably assembled from various more ancient stories (c.f. Zoroastrianism, Babylonian myths, etc.), but that's not important here.


texts: Athenian Democracy - How were the citizens motivated to be so politically active?

texts:
Considering the city-state of Athens and its interesting idea of a direct democracy (550 B.C.), I am comparing and contrasting the political activity of ancient Athenians and modern Americans. Americans in particular are some of the least politically active people in the world. Reading about Athens I have always wondered how the Athenians made it work.

So my question is, back in the city-state of Athens why were the citizens so politically active? Was it just because citizenship had to be earned instead of just being given? Was it because Athenian citizenship was hard to get? And not available to everyone (slaves, women, etc.)? It just seems to be that civic duty back then required so much more time and attention and somehow people did it. Today even the simplest things like voting once a year or being on a jury once a year is such a great burden and people try to get out of it as much as possible. What was so different back then? Thank you.


texts: Is the EU the world's first supranational political union?


texts: When was Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians?

texts:
When reading literature about the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, I always wonder which year it took place. Some books say 586 B.CE. and some say 587 B.CE. Is this because we don't know? Or is there some other reason? If we don't know, what are the arguments for one or the other of these dates?
I also know the Jehovah's Witnesses say it was in 607. If someone has anything to say about any facts that contradict this year I would love to hear it.


texts: My father (DOB 09/03/1919) entered the army 01/1942. By 12/42 he made Sgt. He was a 1st Sgt. when separated 10/45. Is this unusual?


texts: Clay Bulla token/coin identification needed. Struck coin

texts: What type of bulla is this? This was givin to me with no information, I can only say it might be clay and copper.


texts: Could you help me identify this photograph that was taken shortly after World War 2?

texts:
Could you help me identify this photograph?

All I know is that it was taken shortly after World War 2.


texts: Did Jewish families feel Nazi oppression was exceptional?

texts:
I'm trying to compare the treatment of Jews in Europe before the rise of the Nazis with their treatment under the Nazis (before the concentration camps).

Did Jewish communities feel that their oppressive treatment in say, 1938, was similar to oppression that occurred before the Nazis, or did they feel that the Nazi oppression was exceptional?


texts: Two ships named "Mary Celeste" -- concidence or not?

texts:
I know about the famous Mary Celeste ship which was found with no one on board in 1872. Sank in 1885. Let's nickname it "the Ghost ship".

Today, while watching some National Geographic movie about the Bermuda Triangle, I got to know that there was another ship, named either Mary Celestia or Marie Celeste, sank in 1864 near Bermuda. Let's nickname it "the Bermuda ship".

The Wikipedia article for the Ghost ship says:

  The reason for the choice of name is unclear; Begg points out that Maria Celeste was an illegitimate daughter of the astronomer Galileo, and was also the name of a well-known nun, either of whom might have influenced Haines.

(BTW, the wording here gives the impression that the "illegitimate daughter" and the "well-known nun" were two separate persons. But it seems it's one and the same person.)

(I couldn't find the reason given for naming the Bermuda ship so.)

Now, my question:

Was Maria Celeste (Galileo's daughter) so well-known in the 19th century that many entities (at least two ships) were named after her? I've never heard of her before today. Were other things named after her? Like towns and cities?

Or was is just a coincidence that both ships were named so? In other words: was is simply a very popular name back then? Some sort of a fad?


texts: At what point did high school become a standard prerequisite for university students in the USA?

texts:
Earlier in US history, it was common for universities to admit students via entrance exam. A quote in this answer quoting Colonial Education explains "The boys from upper class families were taught be private home tutors and then sent to college or university."

Nowadays, a high school diploma or an officially recognized equivalency (such as passing the GED exam) is generally recognized as the standard way to qualify to start studying at a US institution of higher education. Although such a credential is not strictly an absolute requirement even today, the idea of "finish high school, go to college" seems to have been standard in the USA at least as far back as the 1950's (with enrollment of "non-completers" or "dropouts" as the exception to the rule rather than standard practice), as my parents reported to me that essentially the same formal expectations existed then.

At what point did graduation from a "High School" or the achievement of an equivalency qualification specifically recognized as equivalent to high school become the standard way to get into a university, with other paths becoming the exception rather than the rule?

Yes, I know that it is still possible for someone to be homeschooled, pass the GED at age 18, and then go straightaway to college, but the GED is specifically recognized as high school equivalent, not a truly distinct academic pathway. I'm talking about a time period when there was no concept of a high school equivalency, or when the achievement of a high school qualification was truly an optional part of the process of qualifying for university. That is, an aspiring university student might have chosen to complete a high school qualification because their parents wanted them to, because they wanted the "high school experience", because they were being funded to attend, because it was easy for them, etc. but they could have reasonably and without too much head-turning short-circuited the process and/or followed an older, still common alternative path to a university (e.g. private tutoring toward passing a direct entrance examination, getting sponsorship from a local politician, making a substantial bribe large grant offering, etc.) if they had wanted to.

Alternately, when was the first time in US history where an incoming Freshman might hear something like, "Wow, you did the thing where you study at home with private tutors and then get five alumni to endorse your academic abilities? What a weirdo! Nobody does that anymore! If you want to be in the "cool" crowd, it's all about getting your high school diploma! I wouldn't be surprised if the university abolishes all those non-high school paths next year."


texts: Why exactly did Messiaen never meet the Nazi guard who helped him again, after the war?

texts:
This Reddit comment quotes Wikipedia that contends:

  After the war, [Karl-Albert] Brüll made a special trip to visit Messiaen, but was sent away and told the composer would not see him.

I'm curious, as I agree with Redditor eddiemon:

  He [Brüll] risked his career and potentially even his life to let them go. I have a hard time imagining him as a mostly evil person. Obviously, I've never personally been a victim of the Nazis and I might feel differently if I was, but still, it seems a bit harsh to refuse to meet the man who risked so much for you.

Redditor GoatTnder then contended:

  There is more to the story. I'm going from memory here, so forgive any wrong... The guard was turned away from the door by a servant because Messiaen was working that morning and normally wasn't disturbed. When he heard who came to the door, Messiaen tried to follow the guard, but couldn't find him.

So who's correct?
If eddiemon's account is correct, why didn't Messiaen and  Brüll reattempt to meet again? Messiaen played the organ at his church weekly; so Brüllcould've found him effortlessly?


texts: Cannon Aiming: Spanish vs English and Chinese vs English?

texts: I recall reading that the Spanish tended to aim for sails or masts which was considered less effective than aims at the body of the ship but I guess also allowed the ships to be taken with less damage. So if true, was this the reason? More puzzling and I am guessing a myth or misunderstanding is that Chinese aim over the heads of the enemy because their "spirit" was located there. Could this be true?


texts: What happened to Muslim spouses who converted to Christianity during the 1923 Graeco-Turkish population exchange?

texts:
The Greek - Turkish Population Exchange Convention was signed on 30 January 1923. The population exchange was based on religious identity - involving denaturalization of the Orthodox Christian population of Turkey and the Muslim population of Greece.

My question is about the situation of the Muslim population on the Greek side. What was the legal situation of the converts, who wanted to stay in Greece, and converted to Christianity after the convention date?
More specifically, what happened to Turkish women married to Greek men after the convention date, and decided to stay in Greece as a Greek.

We know that in both sides, many people changed religions to stay.
On the Turkish side, at least on the official side, the Orthodox Greek women marrying to Turkish men were only allowed to stay in Turkey, if the marriage was prior to the convention date. It was even subject to a government decree dated 27 July 1924 in the Turkish side, to clarify such situation, which did not allow post convention marriages.

I want to understand the similar situation in Greece, with regards to Muslim women marrying Greek men, after the convention date. Were they allowed to stay, or was there the same situation as in Turkey, where only the pre-convention married women were allowed to stay?


texts:
In a recent question it was noted, as is well known, that Roman girls were not given praenomen, but took the feminine form of their father's gens - eg Valeria, Cornelia. I have even read the assertion that they did not "need" individual given names, unlike their brothers.

The poor historian might disagree, struggling with Livia Maior, Livia Minor, Livia Secunda etc. This system presumably resulted in confusion between not only sisters, but paternal aunts and their neices.

Roman women generally had greater status and rights than, for example, Athenian women. Yet Greek women had personal names, even if the circumlocution of "X's wife" was generally preferred as more respectful. I am frankly baffled by why Romans thought that calling all their daughters the equivalent, in English, of Smithess was practical and rational.


texts: Did Germany really replace wooden ties with steel ties on Russian Railroads during WW2?

texts:
This online article says

  Soviet Union had a different gauge rail network and the Germans operated much heavier trains than the Russians, so when the Germans invaded they had to rebuild or modify the lines everywhere they went. Some of them were converted to standard gauge by moving the rails. The Germans replaced the Russian wooden sleepers with steel sleepers...

It has a lot of photos and talks about the Rail Plough used to destroy railroads as they retreated. However, I question the use of steel sleepers. Steel was surely much more expensive and rare than wood.

And there must be 1,000 or more sleepers per km of track, and Germany penetrated almost 1,000 km into the Soviet Union during Barbarossa. Would Germany really be spending that much steel, when they could just use wood?


texts:
I'm trying to create an accurate display of a 1902 Colt Bisley revolver (Peacemaker family) and need some technical help with cartridges of the era.  I'm selecting cartridges to be displayed along with the gun and want to get it right.  This question concerns bullet propellant types and the backward compatability of black powder in smokless powder guns.

My research indicates that Colt pistols manufactured after 1900 (s/n 192,000, give or take) are certified for smokeless powder.  The subject to be displayed, being a 1902 model, is certified for use with smokless powder.  I have an opportunity to purchase six black powder cartridges and am curious to know if they would have been used in a "smokeless" gun.

My question:
Was it common for shooters of the era use black powder cartridges in "smokeless" guns and would my display of the 1902 gun and six black powder cartridges be an accurate representation of what would be found on ranches of the Rocky Mountain/Western Plains region after 1900?


texts: If the Iraq War was because of their oil, has the US achieved their war aims

texts:
Let's assume:

The United States of America started the 2003 Iraq war to obtain Iraqi oil.

The Iraq war was very costly for the Americans, and a long and unfinished war has always made the countries that fight them weaker. It is possible, in part, that the financial crisis in America was because of this war. Iraq isn't in better shape because of this long war.

So, for the United States, was this war worth fighting? Will this benefit the US in the long run financially or otherwise?


texts: How many troops would the White Armies have had at their peak during the Russian Civil War?

texts:
A couple of sketchy sources say between 2.3 and 2.4 million, but the books I've looked through are silent on the matter. Nevertheless, the maximum strength of the Red Army at around 5 million during the Russian Civil War (despite only a tenth of those partaking in battle) is indisputable.

I understand that it is difficult to quantify the strength of the White Armies, due to the disjointedness of their attacks, but are there any credible estimates out there?


texts: Was the name 'Valerie' used during the Regency Era (1811-1836)?

texts: I am working on a novel that takes place in England during the Regency Era (1811-1836, the era right before the Victorian Era). I was wondering if you know if the name 'Valerie' or 'Valeria' existed in the Regency Era or maybe the Georgian Era? I am thinking about naming one of my characters as Valerie. Thanks. If anyone could please answer I would truly appreciate that.


texts: What was the Bone Bill in Washington State?

texts:
What was the "Bone Bill" of the 1920's and 30's about? Did it have something to do with power production?

I'd also like to know about the Bill's history and significance.


texts: How do repeating historical conflicts get resolved?

texts:
History is full of conflicts which persist over generations.

Inter-Christian religious wars drive more than a century of conflict that spanned the globe.
Inter-Empire wars over colonization rights drove another century of warfare.
Carthago Delenda Est!

(We could argue the precise dates, or whether any given skirmish was part of a given historical trend; I'm not sure that is relevant to the question, although someone may be brilliant enough to spot the false assumption and provide a splendid answer).

Is there a general theory of these kinds of conflict?
Is there a way to classify a given skirmish within a series of global conflicts? (or is that only available ex post facto?)
Is there a way to tell whether a given conflict is escalating or diminishing?

Is there a common thread in the resolution of these multi-generational conflicts?


texts: Is there a source for the claim that the Oxford Calculators used math to analyze sin?

texts:
In Pythagoras' Trousers, Margaret Wertheim states

  we should note that the Oxford Calculators also attempted to apply
  mathematical analysis to qualities such as sin, charity, and grace.
  (54).

Her source for this claim is Lindberg's The Beginnings of Western Science (first edition). The page she cites states

  We must remember that Aristotle and his medieval followers regarded
  motion as one of four kinds of change and that their analysis of
  change was not meant to focus on local motion, but rather to be
  applicable to all four classes of change. We also need to recognize
  that there is nothing obviously mathematical about most kinds of
  change. When we observe sickness yielding to health, virtue replacing
  vice, and peace emerging from war, no numbers or geometrical
  magnitudes leap out at us. (294)

He doesn't state the Oxford Calculators actually attempted to apply math to these concepts. Can anyone confirm if they did/provide a source for the claim?


texts: Were there records kept of French nobility before the invasion of England in 1066?

texts:
I can trace my family name (Chance) back to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Were any records kept (do they survive?) of French nobility around or before this time? Or is it a known dead end for research?

The earliest documented person was Chauncey de Chauncey, born around 1035 in or near Canchy, Departement de la Somme, Picardie, France (that may be the name today).


texts: Medieval Scottish clan society and legal structure

texts:
What was the basic structure of a Scottish clan in the medieval times?

What was the role of the clan chief?
What was the role of the elders?
Were there any other prominent roles in the society such as equivalents of generals and other ranks?
Did a typical Scottish woman have more or less the same rights as a typical woman from central Europe?
And last but not least, was the clan chief the only law along with tradition. In Wikipedia it is stated that for any dispute a sort of arbitration panel was formed from the leading gentry. Who were those people and what rules did they follow?

I know that each clan was very different from the next, so what I am really asking about is the common practices employed by most.


texts: How did historians sync up historical dates of different cultures?

texts: How do people know, say, that some specific event happened in China 1200 BC? Or the Mayans did something in AD 150? Back then, didn't they all use a different calendar system?


texts: Were there distinctions between Arab, Berbers and Iberian Muslims in 10th century Islamic Spain?

texts:
The Muslims of al-Andalus (Islamic Iberia) consisted of Arabs, Berbers and native Iberians who converted to Islam (+descendants). Were there significant social distinctions between the three ethnic groups?

The official and literary language was Arabic and presumably everybody speaks it. But did they, for example, live in separate communities, speak in different vernaculars at home, or have distinguishable names, clothings or customs from each other? Did they intermarry? Or were they generally assimilated since they had the same religion?

I'm interested in the period around the 10th century, e.g. during the Caliphate of Córdoba: long enough after the initial conquest, but still before the disintegration of the Muslim power.


texts:
At the start of the 19th century, Asian countries had militaries less effective than Western nations.

In 1853, the US Navy forced Japan to enter into trade with the United States. The Japanese realized they were too weak to defend themselves then and had to agree to the terms. Thereafter, the Japanese started to modernize themselves and became a major Asian power in the 20th century.

China had its own humiliating experience that should have jolted it into similar action like Japan. It was the first Opium War with the British. It occurred even earlier in 1839 and was far more unjust and humiliating. China suffered another major humiliation at the hands of the Western powers during the Boxer Rebellion. Unfortunately, China did not modernize and remained weak throughout most of the 20th century.

Why was 19th-century Japan able to modernize and not China?


texts: Pre-Christian use of the Greek Septuagint

texts:
I'm interested in the pre-Christian use of the Septuagint, as well as the Greek language, within Jewish everyday life in Israel and in the synagogues of Israel.

Is there evidence that the LXX or Greek documents or writings were commonly used within synagogues, among Rabbis, Pharisees, Sadducees, or even common Jews during the period prior to the start of Jesus' ministry?

I wonder if after the arrival of Jesus, and then the destruction of the temple, that Rabbinical practice and tradition migrated to a more critical view of the LXX leading to somewhat of a revisionist approach to anything that could separate themselves from Christian teaching.

My hope is to determine if the LXX and Greek was considered a credible source in Israel, rather than just Alexandria and the diaspora, prior to the Rabbinical period.


texts: Did Japan use reconnaissance balloons in WWII?

texts:
I have heard that Japan had used reconnaissance balloons in WWII, especially in China as the Chinese lacked air power and effective anti-air weaponry. I know that balloons - airships to be precise - were used effectively by USA in anti-submarine roles.

Did the Japanese actually use balloons in this manner? If so, what are some incidents where this was used? I have failed to find any reference online as all I find are about the balloon bombs.


texts:
I searched for it but didn't find a particular answer. I didn't want the time when it was found. I know Silk route is dated to as old as 2 BC (from what I read) but when was it the most active ?

Thanks !


texts: How many Iraqi civilians were killed directly by US military action?

texts:
For a while, I had accepted the line that 100,000+ Iraqis were killed by the US military during the Iraq war. Recently however, a pundit claimed that the actual number killed by the US military is much lower. I've been trying to check this, and none of the sources I've found distinguish between those killed by US forces and those killed by other sources (such as sectarian violence).

Does anyone know of a study that makes this distinction?


texts:
I'm planning a road trip through the Southwest U.S., stopping at a lot of national parks and historical sites (click for details):

I'd like to listen to audio books while driving, about the history of the region -- both geological and anthropological. There are a lot of Navajo, Apacha and Hopi sites on the route, a lot of old Pueblo ruins, etc., so I'd like to know more about Native American history, from pre-Columbian times (if possible) up to modern days. I'd also like to learn about the geological history and structures in the region, e.g. the Moenkopi formation, the different strata, when they were laid down, all of that.

Audio books would be preferable -- but, really, any books will do, for bedtime reading between day trips.

Thanks! :)


texts: Are there any accounts of everyday life during the Black Death?

texts:
How did everyday life looked like for people living during the Plague?
I'm mostly interested in trying to understand things from the point of view of a regular person living in Europe. For example, I would like to know: How would they perceive what was going on at the time? How did news of what was going on spread around? Etc.
I'm leaving the question a bit broad on purpose, as my curiosity is not really restricted to a particular part of Europe or a specific period of the Plague.

So far, I've tried searching around the web and I've found a few interesting articles about the topic and one book, Daily Life during the Black Death by Joseph P. Byrne, that seems to be very much related to my question.
I would be particularly grateful for any other book recommendations about the topic and more specifically, I'm very interested on first-hand accounts, if any exist.


texts:
For a long time I knew that gladiators were slaves and they were killed in the arena all the time. But since we got Internet and History channel I learnt that gladiators did not die all the time and that they were actually expensive entertainers.

So what was expensive about them?


texts:
Did Romans pay customs on goods transported within the Empire? Is there any information available about the rates and the rules? For instance, what would a Roman citizen arriving in Alexandria have to pay?

EDIT: Is the Latin name of the officials who handled this known?


texts: What does "Brown-Bread Eater" mean when used as an insult?

texts:
The American Pageant (Bailey, Kennedy, Cohen, 2006) on p. 507 remarks:

  ...regular Republicans denounced Greeley as an atheist, a communist, a free-lover, a vegetarian, a brown-bread eater...

What does "brown-bread eater" mean?  Why is this an insult?  Google did not help to explain this.


texts: What was this security screening process in Swiss airports, circa 1970?

texts:
Following the advice I got from the user Semaphore I would like to split my original airport security question into separate parts and go into a bit more detail in regards to what I would like to know about these pictures.

Here is a press article picture, that seems to have been taken at Zurich Kloten airport, with passengers seen queuing for some booths, where they will be "inquired on weapons". What does that mean? What is actually happening inside those things? Why is it separate for ladies and gentlemen? That just looks extremely weird...

Was there some kind of security procedure, exclusive to Swissair flights, or to the Swiss airports? The description mentions a heavy price for security on Swissair flights...

If such a thing existed, when did they drop that, in favor of the normal screening? I saw a picture of a Swiss airport checkpoint, dated 1982, and at the time it appeared normal, same as elsewhere. But why was it originally so different from other airports and what was the procedure like? What was the heavy price there?

It seems that Swiss airports started deploying police officers to meet passengers at the airstairs immediately prior to them boarding their flights, and look for the clues, such as suspicious behavior circa 1969. Then soon after the Dowson Field, where one of the planes was a Swissair flight, they went on to screen everyone. But I could not find any more information on what that screening would look like in practice.

If anyone knows what this thing is 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: How many British people died due to war/trading activity in the East India Company (EIC)

texts:
Are there estimates that give an approximation of the total number of casualities per year or at least per decade (e.g. in the way Wrigley and Schofield report outmigration numbers in their Population History of England).

One could come up with rough estimates via census records, given approximate average death figures according to, say, the local disease environments etc. (here would be a Q in the flavour of that). The problem is, though, that official censuses only started around 1800 but the British/English overseas endeavours already took off in the 17th century. I am not aware of any EIC related work that tries to give time-consistent estimates on these figures.

It seems that on the Dutch/VOC there has been a lot more work in general. There are even studies that discuss the problem of missing men in Amsterdam. (even though the VOC mostly recruited from migrants from some point onwards - something that was not the case to that extent for the EIC)


texts: Is it appropriate to call 1941 American items "prewar"?

texts: Not sure if this question has a defined answer, or is a matter of opinion. I have a 1941 piece of radio equipment I am thinking about restoring, and I told my dad it was "prewar". It was manufactured before December 7th 1941...so it was before the war in the US, but not prewar overall.


texts: Did Greeks and Romans tolerate those who only worshipped some of their gods?

texts:
Did Greeks and Romans worship all their gods, or was it permissible to worship some of them only (e.g., only in Diana, Jupiter, Apollo, Mercury, etc.)?

{It seems it was permissible to worship some of the gods. It was a common theme for pagan rulers to force Christians to offer incense to a specific god, e.g., to Mercury, Apollo, or Jupiter, "who was particularly worshiped in Crete" (source). The Ephesians were known to be worshipers "of the great Diana, and of Jupiter's offspring" (Acts 19:35). In other cases, Christians were forced to "offer to the gods [plural] the incense which is due to them" (source).}

A related question: For those who worshiped some of them only, did they think the other gods they didn't worship were incompatible with theirs? Did they regarded favourably the other gods?

{It seems they might have, as St. Paul found the Athenians had "an altar…on which was written: To the unknown God [αγνώστω θεώ]" (Acts 17:23).}

In other words: Did they tolerate those who only worshiped some of their gods? If so, did the Greeks or Romans esteem tolerance and a plurality of gods (polytheism) more highly than the gods themselves? If not, was there an "orthodoxy" in Greek and Roman mythology? And who determined whose myth stories or gods were orthodox?


texts: Is there a location to find the personnel roster of the No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron during WW2?

texts:
I'm working on a research project and I am looking to confirm that certain individuals were part of the No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron during WW2.

Is there a place online or offline where one could find a list of the bomber crew personnel that went through this particular squadron? It would be best if the source also had their dates of service, missions flown, kill-count, injuries sustained, date released from active service or transfer, etc.

At the absolute minimum, I would need the list of names of the various members of the squadron through the war years.

I have seen the website devoted to this particular squadron but as far as I can tell it does not have an exhaustive list the personnel attached to it.


texts: How different were the conditions for generals in the Mongol Invasions of Korea?

texts: This question asks about the different conditions for the Mongol leaders versus the average Mongol, while on campaign. During the Mongol invasion of Korea (circa 1231-1270), how much better were the generals on both sides treated then their soldiers?


texts: Was Karst (Kras) first region that was man-made reforested?

texts:
We know that for centuries trees from Karst were used as a foundations where Venice was build. So presumably, in 17th and 18th century, Karst was a stony desert.

We also know that Karst or Kras (native) was man-made reforested since middle of 19th and 20th century. In second half of 20th century reforesting became natural process without help.

My question is, was it first successful man-made reforesting or did some other nation performed such a feat before in such big area?


texts: Why did the negotiations between Henry V of England and France fail?

texts:
Before Henry V of England resumed the Hundred Years War against France, he and the French government acting for Charles VI who was mentally ill were negotiating for a peace treaty where Henry V would abandon his claims to the French throne.

According futurelearn.com, this is what Henry V offered.

  “English demands included a marriage between Henry and one of the daughters of Charles VI, as well as the restitution of the terms of the treaty of Brétigny of 1360 (whereby Edward III had been conceded extensive lands in south-western France in return for renouncing his claim to the French throne). But the negotiations came to nought and Henry announced his intention in parliament of November 1414 to launch an invasion. Although he was persuaded to send another embassy, the French remained intransigent, especially after a further reconciliation between Armagnacs and Burgundians.”

However that is contradicted by the Wikipedia article on the Siege of Harfleur.

  “He claimed the title of King of France through his great-grandfather Edward III, although in practice the English kings were generally prepared to renounce this claim if the French would acknowledge the English claim on Aquitaine and other French lands (the terms of the Treaty of Bretigny).1 He initially called a great council in the spring of 1414 to discuss going to war with France, but the lords insisted that he should negotiate further and moderate his claims. In the following negotiations Henry said that he would give up his claim to the French throne if the French would pay the 1.6 million crowns outstanding from the ransom of John II (who had been captured at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356), and concede English ownership of the lands of Normandy, Touraine, Anjou, Brittany and Flanders, as well as Aquitaine. Henry would marry Princess Catherine, the young daughter of Charles VI, and receive a dowry of 2 million crowns. The French responded with what they considered the generous terms of marriage with Princess Catherine, a dowry of 600,000 crowns, and an enlarged Aquitaine. By 1415 negotiations had ground to a halt, with the English claiming that the French had mocked their claims and ridiculed Henry himself.2 In December 1414, the English Parliament was persuaded to grant Henry a "double subsidy", a tax at twice the traditional rate, to recover his inheritance from the French. On 19 April 1415, Henry again asked the great council to sanction war with France, and this time they agreed.[3]”

Which is correct? What did England and France offer? Did either side offer the terms of the Treaty of Brétigny?


texts: Why was the Nihonmachi sector of Seattle selected for the Yesler Housing Project of the 1930s?

texts:
In the late 1930s the Seattle community of Japanese suffered a substantial loss when large parts of Nihonmachi (the city's Japanese district) were confiscated and torn down to make way for the Yesler Housing Project, a planned development of low-cost housing.

Was there a definite reason why the city government selected this particular area of the Emerald City for their housing project, or was this simply a case of anti-Japanese prejudice?


texts: How did NATO handle the military coups and juntas in Greece, Turkey and Portugal?

texts:
Since the founding of NATO three of its members had military coups and juntas:

Greece from 1967 to 1974
Portugal from 1974 to 1975
Turkey

from 1960 to 1961
in 1971
from 1980 to 1983

Since NATO partners agreed to "contribute toward the further development of peaceful and friendly international relations by strengthening their free institutions." (NATO treaty, article 2), how did it handle this weakening of the free institutions of two of its members? Was it just "business as usual" for the soldiers?

Note: Portugal is special since in the end it actually strengthened the free institutions in Portugal.


texts: How did families parent in the Middle Ages?

texts: The question is probably a subject for a book, but I am really curious: how did parenting look in the middle ages? How did the common folk bring up children? How were the children clothed, what was used instead of diapers?


texts: History of the Changes and Developments in Types of Urban Renewal Projects

texts:
Urban renewal projects defined by Wikipedia as "a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use" started in the 19th century with two very different rationales. In London, they were motivated by a concern for public health and in Paris, they were motivated by a concern for the aesthetics of the city. Today it seems that urban renewal projects can have many disparate motivations, although all share a post-modern and capitalist logic in my opinion: road construction, removing urban blight, increasing tourism, historical preservation, promoting mixed development and more efficient use of city spaces, promoting ethnic integration, increasing the tax base or economic development, etc. (Feel free to argue that this makes no sense. I'm not sure it has any "logic")

I would like to know if the historical development of urban renewal has been roughly similar internationally in the 20th century or if in some parts of the world it has been commonly used for different reasons in some places than in other places?

If it has been different, what might be the reasons? I am wondering if the reasons might be to address more practical concerns or if they are more commonly due to the cultural differences, the differences in popularity of art movements or ideology (ideology-fascism, capitalism, communism- can strongly influence art and building choice).


texts: When did the US colonies/states stop making their own currencies?

texts: This article about the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar#History shows that some of the colonies had their own currencies. It seems from the article that the dollar was around concurrently with the other colony's currencies. At what point in time did all of the colonies or states stop making their own money and use the dollar?


texts: Which country/empire was the dominant hegemon for the longest time?

texts:
Say the USA has been the worlds most dominant power for 75 years.  Before that one could argue the British Empire during the Victorian era, approx 1810 to 1915, was the world dominant power.  Other dominent hegemons I can think of are the Spanish empire from 1500 to 1700, the Roman Empire, the Persian Empire.  What country/empire has been a world hegemon for the longest solid period of time?

I know deciding world power is much more difficult in ancient times.  Hegemon one who economically \ militarily \ politically dominates all they encounter in their region.


texts: Where in Basel was the first Zionist Congress held in 1897?

texts:
The Zionist Congresses were held in Basel from 1897 (the first congress) until 1899 (third congress), and many of the congresses after that were also held there. Where in Basel, exactly, was the "congress building" where the congresses took place?

We have a picture of the congress building:

(source: herzl.org)

What is the exact address of the "congress building" today? Can one still visit it and go inside?


texts: The most awesome army: 80 men left and 81 returned. Is it true?

texts:
On this wikipedia page, I read the funny story of the Lichtenstein's army, which should have at least earned the title of the "most friendly army in the world".

I am not a historian, and I have no idea where to look for other authoritative sources, but I would like to know if that paragraph is history or if it's only a nice legend. Then my question is: is there an authoritative source that proves it?


texts: Why did Athenian philosophers praise Spartan culture and laws, which would preclude philosophers like themselves?

texts:
Laconophilia was near universal among the important Athenian philosophers: Socrates, Aristotle, Plato and his followers - all praised Spartan culture and its laws, even after Sparta fell from glory consequent to the Battle of Leuctra.

The curious point is that all these philosophers were clearly products of the open and tolerant Athenian society in which they lived. Spartan society was reportedly the opposite of that. It's very hard to see an institution like the Akademia encouraged or even tolerated at all in Sparta.

How could these important Greek philosophers praise a society and system of law which would not tolerate people like themselves?

This question is especially poignant in regards to Plato, who was keenly interested in systems of governance and their effect on individuals living under their rule. Did he really not realize that someone like himself and his Akademia would not be accepted within the Spartan system?

Finally, it's ironic for all these brilliant philosophers to praise the values of Sparta, a city-state that had no philosophers of its own as a direct result of these values. Was this irony lost on them too?


texts: How widespread was astronomy in prehistoric times?

texts: There is evidence in many parts of the world that people were able to accurately predict the summer and winter solstices thousands of years ago. For example, Newgrange in Ireland and the Pyramids in Egypt were built with this function. How widespread was this knowledge? Should we expect to find evidence of this practice all over the world, or just in isolated pockets?


texts: Was a drop in standards of living a significant factor in the revolutions of 1848?

texts:
A lot ink has been expended discussing the revolutions of 1848 and their causes, only a small fraction of which I have read.
From my point of view, there seem to be two main schools of thought in explaining why the revolutions broke out when they did:

The first school of thought, of which the Wikipedia article on the revolutions seems like a good representative, is that industrialisation caused a drop the standard of living of the urban poor - to such a point that they rose up in revolt.
The second school of thought advances the counter-intuitive notion that revolutions tend to happen when things are getting better. Conditions for the poor leading up to 1848 were not
markedly worse than before, but, the new urban bourgeoisie, on the other hand, was in a stronger position than ever; and the revolutions of 1848 are best understood as an attempt by this class to displace the old feudal aristocracy. (I'm no expert on the man, but I believe this was Marx's interpretation of events.)

Was there a drop in standards of living in France, Germany, Austria and Italy in the years leading up to 1848? And if so, was this a significant factor in bringing about the revolutions?


texts:
Was it illegal to express sympathy for Nazi Germany during WW2 in Great Britain?
Say you are a citizen and you want your goverment to make peace with Hitler. You even want GB to become a puppet state like France did. Were you allowed to say so in public and start a campaign asking politicans to do this?
Or would this have been illegal, since you are supporting an enemy during war?
I assume it would have been illegal, but I just found fines for breaking the blackout law or not helping in the (war) industry. What would be the punishment? In Nazi Germany it would be called "Wehrkraftszersetzung" (destroying the war ability) and be punishable by death.

Breaking the law during WWII, BBC.com
WW2 People's War, bbc.co.uk


texts: What was the opportunity cost to bombing the rail lines to Auschwitz?

texts:
Occasionally ranters, internet and otherwise, claim that America betrayed the Jews because Roosevelt was asked to bomb the rails to Auschwitz and he refused/ rebuffed them.

Is it difficult to bomb a rail line accurately and effectively?
How difficult is it for the Germans to repair the rail line?
How expensive in terms of war resources would the task be?
Would such a mission be deep in the Soviet theater of war?

What was the opportunity cost to bombing the rails? What tactical or strategic objectives would have been at risk if Roosevelt had diverted resources to bomb the rail lines to Auschwitz?


texts: What did the peasants do in Japanese warfare?

texts:
From what I understand, warfare in feudal Japan used to work like this - samurai sought out worthy opponents, they would duel, and the winner would move on to find another suitable foe.

But what about common foot soldiers, such as the ashigaru? What role did they play in warfare? Were they just used to hold off the enemy's commoners, and once a side's commoners were routed, their nobles would withdraw? Was it acceptable to send some "extra" commoners to take down a particularly skilled nobleman ahead of such an event, or did the nobility effectively have a separate battle going on?


texts: Any studies on how much crime was done during pandemic? How it affected society after

texts: I would like to know during pandemics if any studies were done about crime before and after said pandemic? Did it go up did it go down? How did they deal with those they caught and did they put into effect anything that might help in the future? How did it affect a society after the pandemic?


texts: Did medieval people wear collars with a castellated hem?

texts:
Many drawings of peasants in the Middle Ages show the men with an oversized collar or short cape with a distinctive castellated margin.

Did this really exist, and if so, was the shape dictated by a some detail of its function?
If it did not exist or was uncommon, when did people start drawing it like it was standard attire?


texts: How did Medieval armies survive the use of mail armor in the deserts of the Middle East?

texts:
Something that has long puzzled me is the use of full mail hauberks and the like in the Crusades. How did Crusaders and their various enemies avoid cooking inside their armor?

I know many of them did die of exposure and the like, but they did still fight and take territory. I'd assume the Byzantines and other local powers who used cataphracts and similarly "covered" troops, ran into similar problems. Was it just a "man up and take it" kind of a thing, or did they fight at less hot times of the day? Maybe by changing the season in which to launch a campaign?


texts: Noble hierarchy in the early middle ages

texts: I know it would have varied, but what would a typical hierarchy of feudal noble titles have been during the early middle ages in western Europe and Britain? Was it much different than what existed in the late middle ages and beyond?


texts: Is there any online source that displays the change in world crime rates since the Middle Ages? I am also looking for attempted crime, not "successful" crime, since the rate of successful murders may be confused by the improvement of medical sciences over the years.


texts: How much would votes sell for in early America?

texts:
I am reading an essay by Alfred F. Young right now in which the author mentions that Gouverneur Morris said of enfranchising those without property:

  Give the vote to people who have no property and they will sell them to the rich who will be able to buy them.

I find the concept of selling votes to be interesting, and I imagine that different elections would have different prices for which votes would sell. I have not been able to find any information on what the range of prices for votes would be, and it seems like a very difficult thing to put a price on. Is there any literature available on the prices which would have been payed for votes in various elections in the period?


texts:
I want to know about Native American history.  I am young, so I have not learned a awful lot about them.  I want to know what kind of things they used for technology, and for what. So my question is:

What was Native American technology like?


texts: Is the use of flamethrower style naval weapons depicted in this game accurate?

texts:
In the popular strategy game Age of Empires 2, one key naval unit is the so-called Fire Ship. Fire ships in the game use a siphon to launch a continuous stream of fire projectiles on the enemy.
However, this looks to me more like a typical Byzantine dromon equiped with Greek fire.

I searched through Wikipedia about instances of Greek fire being used from armies other than the Byzantines and it offers no examples of its use by anyone else other than the Byzantines in naval engagements. At most, some Byzantine ships were captured by hostile powers:

...the Byzantines could not avoid capture of their precious secret weapon: the Arabs captured at least one fireship intact in 827, and the Bulgars captured several siphōns and much of the substance itself in 812/814. This, however, was apparently not enough to allow their enemies to copy it. The Arabs, for instance, employed a variety of incendiary substances similar to the Byzantine weapon, but they were never able to copy the Byzantine method of deployment by siphōn, and used catapults and grenades instead.

Additionally I searched about fire ships which I gather historically were used more as the again in-game demolition ships, and exploded on contact with enemy ships rather than use flamethrowers.
Then my search on thermal weapons was more interesting as it states that:

Similar petroleum and bitumen-based incendiary mixtures had been known for centuries before the invention of Greek fire, but this new recipe created a blaze which was extremely difficult to extinguish. It burned on water, and was used effectively in naval warfare, although it was primarily an anti-personnel weapon rather than a ship-burner. It remained effective at sea even after its use had declined on land after the 13th century. The Greek fire recipes continued to be developed over the centuries, and by the High Middle Ages was much more sophisticated than the early versions.

Additionally:

Duarte Barbosa ca. 1514 listed weapons made by Javanese people, including Greek fire. Zhang Xie in Dong Xi Yang Kao (1618) mentioned that city of Palembang, which has been conquered by Javanese, produces the furious fiery oil (ming huo yu), which according to the Hua I Kao is a kind of tree secretion (shu chin), and is also called mud oil (ni yu).

It much resemble camphor, and can corrode human flesh. When ignited and thrown on water, its light and flame become all the more intense. The barbarians use it as a fire-weapon and produce great conflagrations in which sails, bulwarks, upperworks and oars all catch fire and cannot withstand it. Fishes and tortoises coming in contact with it cannot escape from being scorched.

As such, this seems to indicate that some form of flamethrowing weapon was in naval use in the east although the delivery system somewhat differs from the one depicted in the game. The above extracts do not confirm, as I understand it, the use of naval weaponry, similar to the Greek fire, by Western European powers.
From the game's wiki the following claim is made:

Other civilizations acquired the secret of Greek fire at times, but it was so closely guarded and dangerous to use that it is lost today.

Therefore, what I whould like to ask is, if there are documented cases of Greek-fire, wildfire, or any relevant weaponry with a delivery system similar to that of a Byzantine dromon in Western European naval warfare.


texts: How did former slaves typically acquire a surname?

texts:
Especially male slaves, as female slaves logically would have taken the husband's name if they found one. Did male slaves that had been freed just randomly pick a surname?

I'm referring to the Atlantic Slave Trade and in relation to slaves freed in the UK.


texts: Were African-American slaves forced to reproduce under the assumption of artificial selection?

texts:
Selective Breeding aka, artificial selection is a way of humans selecting mates for an organism based on certain traits to produce offspring with those traits.

When African Americans were held in the USA, did their masters breed them with the intent of producing "better" slaves? Or is this even possible biologically? I would not think it is impossible, since a lot of phenotypical (physically viewable) traits are influenced by genetics and the environment.

IE: Male slave A ~ phenotypically Large , Female slave B ~phenotypically Large

Their intention: A + B  ~ phenotypically large child.


texts: Where can I find documents on the 1992 fight between French soldiers and Somalian fighters?

texts:
I read in this French blog that before the battle of Mogadishu in 1993, French soldiers did fight successfully and manage to achieve their mission in June 1992 during the Oryx Operation (They were sent to help Pakistani troops that were ambushed).

I've never read anything about this event, and sometimes french military history tends to consider everything as a victory. Is there articles or books on this particular event ?

The link of the blog article  can be found here. It is written in French language.

It explains approximately what was the main differences between the French and the American way of doing things and compare those two battles.

The French CO (Commanding officer) was on the field whereas the American CO was at the CP monitoring the situation with video-camera
French troops tend to avoid heavy supporting fire in the middle of civil area and therefore they are able to save their ammo much longer.
American soldier stayed in the streets, the most dangerous place in urban combat


texts: What is the Ancient Egyptian word for "Fisher"

texts: Or, failing that, "Fish". Need it for a project but really struggling to find anything definitive online. Thank you!


texts: What involvement did Jonathan Edwards have with the Conspiracy of 1741?

texts:
According to this article:

  Rev. Jonathan Edwards delivered the hellfire and brimstone "spider" sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in Enfield, Connecticut on July 8, 1741. This topical sermon is a bitter jeremiad against the "New York Negro rebels" who were then being executed for plotting to burn the village of New York to the ground.

The reference is to the New York Conspiracy of 1741, which did occur the same summer that Edwards delivered his most famous sermon.  The article proceeds to draw inferences from the text of the speech, descriptions of the circumstances, and a connection to "prosecuting attorney William Smith" to assert that the mania in New York that summer was the subject of his oration.  Finally the article concludes:

  Ultimately absolved by their minister, the jubilant people in Enfield were free; but thrilling sermons in Connecticut could be no solace to the tortured in New York.

But searching around, I'm having a hard time finding any supporting evidence to back that theory up.  It's doubly difficult to determine what, if anything, Edwards knew of events in New York that summer or what he thought of them.  The sermon itself seems to be more focused on eternal consequences than on current events.  It's pretty much the defining moment of the Great Awakening.

Is there any documentation that shows Jonathan Edwards' purpose for delivering this particular sermon?