The Martini-Henry was a breechloading, single-shot rifle that used a lever-action, as far as I am aware of. I am not well versed in the period at which the rifle was adopted, but I know that it was used in the Zulu wars and I believe the Boer wars. What I am a little confused about is why it became the standard rifle for British troops? I believe that the bolt action was advancing at this time and effect rifles were made from that, and there were other mechanisms too. As far as I am aware of, the reason lever actions were not fully adopted by countries in previous wars, was that it made it hard to reload while prone. Was that really a big issue? Or were there aspects of the Martini-Henry that made it so effective.
1 Answers 2020-06-17
Been reading about the Tudor years in England although obviously prevalent throughout Europe and in many eras. How did Christian authorities justify killing people who deviated from the governing orthodoxy? How did they rationalize this with “Thou shalt not kill?” Was there some purported scriptural basis?
1 Answers 2020-06-17
I could understand some nobles knowing Latin, but how would farmer John know what the priest was telling them if he only spoke Old English?
1 Answers 2020-06-17
Being totally honest I don’t know anything about the Eastern Front of WW2 and I know relatively little just as a casual fan of history about WW2 in general. I just can’t wrap my head around the accounts of the winter of 1941 during the German push towards Moscow. Soldiers faced temperatures of -40 degrees with deep snow all while advancing through open country while wearing summer uniforms? How is it even possible for any human being to survive that? I think I’m missing something here, did they have access to some sort of shelter as they advanced ie taking over towns and sleeping there? If not, I don’t understand how someone could march and sleep in those conditions and not just die or at the very least be so frostbitten they are completely unable to function especially as combat troops. Not asking to address my many questions individually, I am just trying to explain what I understand and elaborate on what I’m asking
1 Answers 2020-06-17
2 Answers 2020-06-17
This stems from a conversation elsewhere, where I thought I faintly recalled hearing that we know some names of slaves who belonged to Julius Caesar; did I remember that correctly (about Caesar, or any others)? If so, I'd also be curious as to whether we know about them from their own words, or passing mentions in others' writings.
1 Answers 2020-06-16
I’ve always been a fan of the Aztecs and have done a lot of reading on them (not really any primary sources though). While listening to a great course audio book on them, the narrator said his favorite piece of Aztec history is the codex Mendoza and this cemented my want to find a copy. The problem I have though is that all I can find are: sold out, 400-500$ or an incomplete version that said “volume 1.” I would love this to read and look through and honestly would spend a good bit of money on a copy, but 500 is just so steep. If anyone knows where I can find a cheaper copy that has all the drawing as well I would ecstatic. Thank you!
1 Answers 2020-06-16
There were no checks, right? So the logistics seem daunting. Did Cicero have this money in a bank or vault somewhere? Did he have slaves load the coins into wagons and drive them to Crassus's house/bank/vault? Did he get a receipt?
3 Answers 2020-06-16
This is obviously a loaded topic which touches on current events, but my question is historical and truly being asked in good faith.
I was recently exposed to the idea that fighting against obesity has roots in racism. It is an idea that at first glance strikes me and probably other people as a stretch, but I don't want to dismiss it out of hand.
Here is an article I was directed to: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-racist-roots-of-fighting-obesity2/
I also was made aware of a book called "Fearing the Black Body" which I have not read.
I figure taking a historical look at this can allow us to skirt around some of the contentious and opinion-based issues that might come up here-- for example, one might argue that there's an underlying assumption to these claims, which is that obesity in and of itself isn't harmful, and therefore some other explanation for societal opposition to obesity is needed, and maybe that assumption is wrong. But from a historical standpoint, we can potentially avoid that debate by figuring out which idea came first-- are there publications discussing the harms of obesity from societies that likely thought little about race in a day-to-day setting, as they were insulated from black communities? Are the earliest writings against obesity written in the context of race? If people were already writing negatively about obesity without any evidence that it was harmful, but with exposure to the idea that some cultures they looked down on prized a rotund figure, it would support the idea. On the other hand, if early writings are generally about observations that obese people more often get certain diseases, that might oppose the idea. I'm sure in reality there are a variety of interwoven ideas.
This may be too broad of a topic to easily address, as I'm sure there are multiple circles of thought from which obesity opinions arise, across different times and places, but if not-- if there's a pretty clear root from which the rest of the discussion arises-- it would be very interesting to learn about.
Sorry if this is a tough one or a vague one, but the historians here are pretty impressive sometimes, so I'll hope for the best!
1 Answers 2020-06-16
so i heard this a few times, but is there really proof that Montezuma tought that Hernan Cortés was Quetzalcoatl? Any books or docu's on this topic are also welcome:) looking forward to get some answers :)
2 Answers 2020-06-16
1 Answers 2020-06-16
I am rewatching “World War II in Colour” and during the Battle of Britain, several clips show British anti-aircraft weaponry being put to use. How effective were these weapons at the time and how did their use change (if at all) over the course of the war?
2 Answers 2020-06-16
So I have doing some research on Viking/norse burials/funerals. I have doubt that they would do one of three customs. They would ether
My question is, what determines how a high ranking Viking would be treated after death? Was it local tradition? A choice made by Viking before he died? (Like a will?), was it determined by landscape?
Any information will be greatly appreciated.
3 Answers 2020-06-16
George Orwell is often called prophetic for his book 1984. The book was published in 1949. Hitler was already dead and Stalin had been in power since the 20's. Orwell had authoritarian regimes to draw on in writing the novel. He didn't come up with the ideas from scratch. Why is his novel considered prophetic? I have nothing against the novel. I'm just trying to understand the significance in relation to actual authoritarian regimes.
1 Answers 2020-06-16
In an interview on NPR about his upcoming movie, set in Vietnam during the war, when it was mentioned, "viewers get the sense the black troops might turn on the white troops," Spike Lee responds, "All the black Vietnam vets who saw the film — four different screenings — confirmed that. It's not something that's been talked about. But the black soldiers were about to set it off. They were going to start firing guns — and it wasn't going to be at the Viet Cong. We're fighting people who've done nothing against us. And in the middle of all this, we hear that Dr. Martin Luther King has been assassinated. And on top of that, their black brothers and sisters are burning stuff to the ground. In over 120 cities, America was in flames."
I've heard it explained as mostly behind the lines brawls between drunk soldiers, but nothing like the near revolt Lee describes. Is he sensationalizing to promote his film, or is this true? If that really almost happened, how did our military prevent it and keep all the soldiers on the same side, trusting one another with their lives, sacrificing for one another, and following orders?
1 Answers 2020-06-16
In the same way that allied resistance forces operated in many occupied European and Asian nations were there any groups of British people who attempted to undermine the allied war effort in the United Kingdom?
1 Answers 2020-06-16
2 Answers 2020-06-16
Resubmitting a question and trying to phrase it differently. I'm curious what factors led to South America remaining divided into a number of nations instead of them uniting into a larger, individual state, akin to the U.S. Both were the sites of former colonies; both would have been influenced by Enlightenment thinking. Was there ever an effort to unite South America? Were the cultural differences and geography too vast?
2 Answers 2020-06-16
Would they do it to any criminal or did they only use torture for more serious crimes? Would they often torture innocent people for entertainment as well?
1 Answers 2020-06-16
1 Answers 2020-06-16
Why are paintings and Art from the medieval often look so strange? In my opinion they look as they were made by children. Especially the arms and faces of people
1 Answers 2020-06-16
1 Answers 2020-06-16