Not too long ago I was listening to the History of Rome podcast when I heard the part about Attila the Hun being paid yearly by Constantinople in vast amounts of gold in return for peace. Since the podcast focused on Roman history, ending at the fall of the western empire, I never learned what happened to that immense wealth. Did the later Eastern "Byzantine" rulers ever get it back? If not what became of it?
1 Answers 2017-05-20
I recently visited the Vasamuseet in Stockholm (great museum, by the way!) and learned all about the Vasa, which was essentially the crown jewel of warship technology at the time of its construction in 1628. (Except in the "staying afloat long enough to leave the harbour" sense.) It got me thinking about technological developments during the Age of Sail.
The technological asymmetry between a modern warship and a frigate like the Constitution doesn't require much elaboration. A modern ship is faster, possesses much more firepower, and is so well armored as to be effectively impervious to the Constitution's armaments. This is because it has engines where the Constitution has only sail, modern guns where the Constitution has cannon, and steel armor where the Constitution just has wood.
Comparing the Vasa to the Constitution, however, I realized that I don't know what technological developments separate the two. They're both made of thick oak, are powered by sail, and field heavy cannon. Given the 170 years between the two, the Constitution would kind of have to come out the victor, but I don't know if the victory would be as lopsided as the hypothetical battle between the frigate and a modern ship. Hence my question. How did warship construction, battle tactics, armaments, etc. advance between ~1600 and ~1800? Did the paradigm change as much as it did between ~1800 and ~2000? To what extent would the Constitution outmatch a ship of roughly two centuries prior, and what would be the deciding factors?
(Note that while I'm referencing the Vasa, an answer by no means has to be restricted to that ship, as it's just one that I saw recently.)
3 Answers 2017-05-20
"All this marks a remarkable change from the 1980s, when Israel was on the brink of financial collapse. Its near-defeat in the Yom Kippur war had caused it to push defence spending to an extraordinary 30% of GDP in 1975. By 1984 public debt had reached nearly 300% of GDP and hyperinflation peaked at 450% a year."
If anyone is interested in the article:
1 Answers 2017-05-20
Was it something that Homo Sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans had in common or did they develop differently and independently? I apologize if it isn't the right sub but you're my only hope History-One-Kenobi
1 Answers 2017-05-20
I would like to know at the start of the soviet-german war during ww2, how many soviets were there to germans. I am asking this because I know the soviets had loads of manpower but I don't know exactly how many it would be in a ratio of 1:_
I would also like to know how much this went up or down as the war went on for both sides.
1 Answers 2017-05-20
1 Answers 2017-05-20
From what I understand. Ireland is greatly considered to be a chief export of potatoes, and the whole deal of the great potato famine. The thing is I also remember reading that things like potatoes, tomatoes etc where discovered on the first time in the new world. So how did irelands economy and culture shift so drastically to make to potato famine possible. Or am I just 100% wrong in this whole chapter of history?
3 Answers 2017-05-20
I'm reading through this article and have a question about the following passage (emphasis mine):
Many of us must remember the quarrel when it raged in America before the abolition of slavery. When the full emancipation of the Negroes was advocated, the practical people used to say that if the Negroes were no more compelled to labour by the whips of their owners, they would not work at all, and soon would become a charge upon the community. Thick whips could be prohibited, they said, and the thickness of the whips might be progressively reduced by law to half-an-inch first and then to a mere trifle of a few tenths of an inch; but some kind of whip must be maintained. And when the abolitionists said – just as we say now – that the enjoyment of the produce of one’s labour would be a much more powerful inducement to work than the thickest whip. ‘Nonsense, my friend,’ they were told – just as we are told now. ‘You don’t know human nature! Years of slavery have rendered them improvident, lazy and slavish, and human nature cannot be changed in one day. You are imbued, of course, with the best intentions, but you are quite ”unpractical”.’
Was this a real quarrel, or something that was really advocated for? My Google Fu is weak and I can't find any evidence for this claim, but I also don't know how much evidence we have from 1888. Thanks!
1 Answers 2017-05-20
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Hello I am very curious about human heights and I was wondering could we know how tall the people of ancient Sumerian or ancient Mesopotamia? (Would the door ways of homes be smaller because of smaller human stature? Also we could just measure the skeletons that's probably easier ).
1 Answers 2017-05-19
Specifically, I'm interested in doing research on his involvement or lack thereof in the Plan de San Diego which was a revolutionary movement from 1915 to 1916 in the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
1 Answers 2017-05-19
Self explanatory I guess.
2 Answers 2017-05-19
Was there any chance of direct British intervention? Why didn't they recognize the south?
1 Answers 2017-05-19
In the Christian tradition, the western church believes in the doctrine of purgatory. In the eastern church, a common teaching is the doctrine of the aerial tollhouses. The idea is demons come and try to carry the soul off to hell, accusing the soul of their sins or persuading the soul to hold onto them. I know both these teachings had come into being by the medieval era. How did this become so? Where do these doctrines come from? Were they present in judaism? What did Christians believe during the patristic era?
1 Answers 2017-05-19
I have read some stuff about the Holocaust: Night, Anne Frank's Diary, Man's Search For Meaning, Human Smoke and Maus. I have been exposed to all the major Movies/TV shows about it, but one thing that I always have wanted to know more about - a lot more - was how some of the statistics of the holocaust were arrived at.
I am not a denialist. I am honestly just curious about where some of the research and numbers came from - how the kind of canonical numbers of the holocaust became the numbers they are- how did they account for all of the devastation.
Thanks in advance.
2 Answers 2017-05-19
I mean the typical fantasy quest where a small band travel, over coming obstacles to achieve retireve something or whatever.
1 Answers 2017-05-19
I was a little surprised by the statement as Italy is known for their food. I understand that Dumas was french, so was this more of a personal distaste he had or was Italian cuisine generally disliked? The book was published in 1844.
1 Answers 2017-05-19
^((For clarity I'm talking about the historical 1 handed warhammer, not the sort you see in most video games and media)^)
Recently I've began to think that maces were more expensive to make compared to warhammers, as well as being more of a weapon for the rich or nobles. This was based on:
What a historical youtuber said
Maces looking like they have more metal in them
Maces seeming harder to make than a warhammer
Maces and mace like looking weapons sometimes being shown by nobles or royality ^((An example being the queen of england in modern times)^)
But I haven't actually got any real sources, so that's why I'm here. I've seen some evidence to the contrary, like this knight using a warhammer on horseback, but not much else. Although this could just be the knight depicted here as prefering a warhammer to a mace, or it being better for cavelry or better in general in his eyes.
Which brings me onto my second question, are there any primary sources that state a preference or an advantage of the mace over the warhammer and/or vice versa?
1 Answers 2017-05-19
Is this a military pin, if not where is it from? http://imgur.com/a/yGqHl
1 Answers 2017-05-19
It's understood now that it was well established in Columbus's day that the Earth was indeed round and that this was not seriously questioned--certainly not by navigators. So when did the practice arise of teaching schoolkids that everyone thought the world was flat, and then along came Columbus who thought it was round and set out to prove as much? More to the point, why did this teaching ever become prevalent, enough so that it entered pop culture as a part of the overall historiography around Columbus?
2 Answers 2017-05-19
I believe they were a Soviet puppet at the time.
1 Answers 2017-05-19
