For example, in Les Mis Prisoner 42601 has to report somewhere else with his parole papers but starts a new life instead. Since photo IDs weren't a thing, couldn't anyone claim to be anyone else and it would be relativity difficult to disprove?

Alternatively, if you happen to know what drunk Italians ate in the 1500s or what drunk Egyptians ate in the 21st century BC, feel free to chime in!

I got into a stupid argument about this the other day, but my sources are kinda shaky. Was the word in use? Who did it refer to? How does its use then relate to what it meant ten or twenty years later?

I watched a documentary called Chinese Chariots Revealed, and it implied that, during ancient China, cavalry was developed in response to the use of chariots (after having learned of the effectiveness of cavalry from the Mongolians, the film mentions). I always assumed that chariot technology came after the use of cavalry, since cavalry seems like a direct application of a horse.

Were chariots heavily used before cavalry in ancient China? If so, why?

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Hey, all! My father-in-law attends a Christian theology course in Brazil. He has to present​ a project on Saturday and asked me for help on the following:

Why were most Conservative/Christian states pro slavery, at the time of the civil war, instead of being anti-slavery? Wouldn't being anti-slavery be more "Christ-like"?

If anyone could just point me in the direction with some source material, I'd highly appreciate it.

Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit, I'd just like to know not only when this assumption was first made, but also how it was first proved?

What I can't wrap my mind around is how something like the Holocaust came to be. I mean, surely it was more complex than Hitler having an idea about getting rid of a race of people and the masses just joining in on the idea. How did it get to the point of six million people dying in a concentration camp?

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I'd love to get a better grasp on Incan society and would love to learn more about the royal groups (panacas) and the other polities (eg Colla, Chimu) that made up the Incan empire. I know these are two separate (and very different) questions, but I'd love any info on either one.

Thanks!

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The Lion in Winter is one of my favorite movies (and plays). I know the author, James Goldman, did extensive historical research on Henry and Eleanor of Acquitaine, and their sons, but was wondering: how accurate do historians perceive the movie to be?

This has been asked before a couple years ago, but only got a couple short answers so I hope it's ok to ask once more.

I meant the United States military during World War 2, not the Army itself.

Looking particular for something semi-entertaining, nothing too dense but still informative.

I was watching True Grit, and got to thinking that it appears they sort of ride in a general direction.

Once you hit the plains, where the distance between towns/settlements was vast, how were they able to figure out where they were going? Were there paths? Was there the odd signpost? Did they simply use the sun and figure out which way was West?

How difficult would it have been for someone going from New York to reach California (in terms of finding their way)?

When learning about the Mexican Revolution in history class, we had to learn about all of the perspectives of historians and their outlooks on the subject. Why are multiple inputs from historians needed if there is only one history that happened? Why do we need to learn about these interpretations when there is only one way that the history worked?