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1500 questions
25
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1 answer
How long would it take to cross the Channel in 1890's?
For a story I'm writing, I'd like to know how long it would take to travel by ship from Calais to Dover in 1890's (as I read it was the easier way). Also, was it possible to take a boat from Calais directly to London?
Emilie
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Why did the person in charge of a principality not just declare themself king?
I don't understand the concept of principalities, why wouldn't you just call yourself king?
The job description appears to be exactly the same.
When England was ruled by the Saxons we had a bunch of kings, who slowly all got defeated and the winner…
WendyG
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Did galley captains put corks in the mouths of slave rowers to keep them quiet?
I’m reading Sword and Scimitar by Simon Scarrow and there’s this bit about rowers in galleys of the Knights of St. John (Malta). In the story, it is important the Knights' galley keeps silence so that they can surprise the Ottomans they are…
Stew
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25
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3 answers
Why did the USSR stop in the Winter War against Finland in 1940?
To me, this is one of the biggest history mysteries. By the end of February 1940, the USSR breached the Mannerheim line, and the Finnish troops were exhausted and short of ammunition. I have little doubt that at that moment, the USSR could easily…
Sandra
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25
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9 answers
Why weren't aircraft carriers utilized during D-day?
Why were aircraft carriers not used during and following D-Day? They could have added a great deal of range to the air support operations.
Sardathrion - against SE abuse
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3 answers
Is there evidence to suggest that Abraham and Hammurabi influenced one another?
AnswersInGenesis suggests:
However, the result of recent research is that the chronology of the ancient world is being redated. Hammurabi now appears to be a near contemporary of Moses instead of Abraham. In Egyptian chronological studies, the…
hawkeye
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Why didn't the Black Death result in favorable results for surviving peasants in China?
The Black Death affected Europe and China alike.
In Europe, the Black Death resulted in increased social mobility for the peasants and, as a result, labor-saving innovations were introduced. All these laid the foundation for the European Renaissance…
Graviton
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2 answers
Why did the Mongols destroy the library during the siege of Baghdad in 1258?
For all what we know the Mongolian Empire was not simply a collection of brainless brutes, but they had intense knowledge of their opponents: descriptions, maps, information about the technology, culture and especially competing groups of people…
Thorsten S.
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2 answers
When and where were the first coins made showing the currency or a face value?
According to this article Origin and Evolution of Money, coins
...for many centuries...were guaranteed by their intrinsic value, that is to say, by the trade value of the metal used in their production.
This made putting the unit of currency on…
Lars Bosteen
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25
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8 answers
Why did Austronesian/Polynesian people not colonize Australia?
Australia hosted aboriginal populations since prehistory. However technologically advanced civilizations (in comparison) lived nearby, in Indonesia, Polynesia and New Guinea.
Why was it not colonized by those people? Is there any evidence of…
astabada
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2 answers
What is the oldest road tunnel in the world?
At the Furlo Pass in the Apennines, the Via Flaminia passes through a tunnel built in 76 - 77 AD during the time of Emperor Vespasian, replacing an earlier tunnel.
The tunnel built during the time of Vespasian. Attrib: By AlMare (Own work) [CC…
Lars Bosteen
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25
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4 answers
What made the Russian Navy suspect Japanese torpedo boats were in North Sea in 1904?
I'm finding several references that during the Russia - Japanese war of 1904/1905 that the Russians had intelligence that suggested the Japanese either had torpedo boats present in the North Sea or had heavily mined the sea. Both of these seem a…
Twelfth
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How frequently did monasteries attack other monasteries in Early Medieval Western Europe?
Recently, I saw this passage in M & H. Whittock, ‘The Viking Blitzkrieg’ (referring to Ireland)
of the 113 attacks on monasteries between 795 and 820, only twenty-six
were carried out by Vikings. The rest were either carried out by Irish
kings…
Lars Bosteen
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25
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2 answers
What was the planned line of succession for the Nazi Party in the event that Hitler died?
What was the planned line of succession for the Nazi Party in the event that Adolf Hitler died? I see that after Hitler's suicide in April 1945, Joseph Goebbels succeeded as Chancellor of Germany for a single day before committing suicide himself,…
Thunderforge
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4 answers
What / When was the first use of concentration camps in history?
I distinctly remember a history teacher of mine claiming that the first use of the concept of concentration camps was done by the English against the Boers in the Anglo-Boer wars, I have wondered for many years if that was true?
I did go to an…
Neil Meyer
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