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1500 questions
28
votes
11 answers
Was the American Civil War the “bloodiest civil war in history”?
I heard something like that once on some TV documentary, but I'm second guessing that there must have been a caveat for just the Americas, or otherwise qualified it as, "in modern history", or as a percentage of population or something.
I know that…
ipso
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28
votes
2 answers
Classical battle sizes vs medieval battle sizes
Why did classical battles did tend to be larger than in the medieval period? One particular example I am thinking of was the Battle of Stamford Bridge, which had around 30,000 participants, compared to the Battle of Wattling Street which supposedly…
a6088340
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28
votes
4 answers
What is the evidence to claim that political order in ancient Rome was sufficiently different under "kingdom", "republic" and "empire"?
Traditionally the following stages are counted for the political order of the Ancient Rome:
Kingdom
Republic
Empire (subdivided into Principate and Dominate)
The "kingdom" is usually regarded as monarchy, the "republic" as the republic in modern…
Anixx
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28
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1 answer
What became of Nazi Germany's embassies in neutral countries?
This picture shows the German embassy in Stockholm very near the end of World War II (with the flag lowered to mark Hitler's death).
Germany surrendered on the 8th May 1945. The Flensburg government was dissolved and its members arrested on 23rd…
Tea Drinker
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27
votes
5 answers
How did the gold of the new world cause the Spanish Empire to collapse?
There are some arguments that Spain over-exploited the precious metal deposits of the new world, leading to wide-scale inflation. This, coupled with their expulsion of Jewish money lenders, caused their economy to collapse. I am confused as to how…
Evil Washing Machine
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27
votes
1 answer
Great Wall of China Controversy
Until several years ago the eastern end of the Great Wall of China was considered to end at Shanhaiguan where the wall goes into the sea, but the Chinese have revealed (in 2009) new portions of the Great Wall that goes right up to the North Korean…
A.Kang
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27
votes
5 answers
Why did native Americans and Europeans mix in South America but not in North America?
A large part of the current population of South America are descendants of both native Americans and Europeans. In contrast, in north America the intermingling of native Americans and Europeans was significantly less common. What are the historic…
davitenio
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27
votes
2 answers
Why were slings phased out of medieval armies in favor of bows?
I was watching some videos on slings and was surprised by how long-ranged and powerful they could be. This test indicates its power could be similar to that of a 9mm bullet. According to Wikipedia, slings also had ranges comparable to or longer than…
Twilight Sparkle
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27
votes
2 answers
When did Kievan Rus' rulers become culturally Slavic?
As the title says, when did the Varangian rulers become culturally more Slavic? I presume that among the elites there was cultural borrowing from Byzantium too, so I am not claiming a Viking-Slavic binary distinction.
If, then when, did the mother…
Markku P.
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27
votes
1 answer
Why was uranium mined in the 1500s, but only "discovered" in 1789?
This Guardian article talks about how uranium was mined at the beginning of the 1500s. The Guardian is a pretty reputable newspaper as far as I’m aware, so I am willing to believe them. Out of curiosity, I attempted to find out why anyone would mine…
Puffafish
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27
votes
4 answers
Was there really a navy officer named Picard at the Battle of Trafalgar?
Was there a high ranked French navy officer who fought at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21st 1805, and had a last name Picard?
In the film Star Trek Generations, the fictional character Jean-Luc Picard mentions his ancestor fighting in the…
Jane B.
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27
votes
2 answers
What was a plausible timetable for a train journey across Europe in 1870?
I'm writing historical fiction set in 1870 (June, some weeks before the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war) in which some of the protagonists are traveling by train across Europe, from Calais to Vienna.
The feasibility of this journey is clear, and…
rwallace
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27
votes
2 answers
Why does the US use the opposite convention to the rest of the world for colour-coding harbour buoys?
According to the this answer, in the US buoys on the right are red when returning to a harbour, with green on the left. This is in contrast to most of the rest of the world.
What caused this split in the conventions?
thosphor
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27
votes
2 answers
When did horseback riding start? Are Doosheh cave petroglyphs authentic and correctly dated?
I am trying to reconcile 3 answers I have got so far. Perhaps there are more. My main question is about when horseback riding started.
In Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, UK), the information panel in the Middle East section tells the visitors that the…
Yulia V
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27
votes
3 answers
Why is Lady Jane Grey called Lady instead of Queen?
Lady Jane Grey claimed the English throne 19 July 1553, nine days later she was replaced by Queen Mary. To history she is always called Lady instead of Queen. I just wonder why?
Its true she had no formal coronation, but neither did King Edward V,…
Dave
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