Pirates in the golden age had a negative reputation by non-pirates, so when did society start to romanticize them and why are they often regarded as "folk heroes" now?

1 Answers 2017-04-03

[ships] How expensive were mechanical fire-control computers compared to the rest of a World War-era warship (light cruiser, maybe)?

2 Answers 2017-04-03

Wings being shot off during World War I

So you see these games and movies about aviation in WW1 and one thing that is quite common is to see wings rip off. Considering how small aircraft guns were at the time, shouldn't that be pretty rare? How often did it happen? Any accounts of this?

1 Answers 2017-04-03

In the 20th century, people thought the future would have flying cars, hoverboards, and other technologies. What did people in the 10th century imagine the future would be like? How about 0 AD?

1 Answers 2017-04-03

What impact did the Bahá'í Faith have on Iran during the Islamic Revolution?

1 Answers 2017-04-03

Mongol invasion of serbia (1291)

"In 1291 a large Mongol-Bulgarian alliance raided into Serbia, where Serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin defeated them. However, the Serbian king acknowledged Nogai's supremacy and sent his son as hostage to prevent further hostility when Nogai threatened to lead a punitive expedition himself" this is from wikipedia page about mongol invasion of Europe, my question is where did they take his son and how many years was he held hostage.

1 Answers 2017-04-03

Does the Civilization series offer a "Whig" interpretation of history?

I was watching a podcast where this topic was discussed. I understand that the term carries some negative connotations amoung historians.

The games do (particularly the 5th and 6th iterations) seem to support a progressive form of history, however. As technology advances, inventions such as fertilizer improve agricultural yeilds, and all civilizations move forward in a linear fashion. Players develop more complicated ideologies and institutions over time, such as Liberalism or civil service. Leader and civilization abilities often emphasize high points in a nation's history, like the Achaemenid Golden Age, Ethiopian resiliency against Italy, and early modern Venetian trade dominance.

Would professional historians today regard the Civilization games as examples of "Whig History," or is this less applicable? How do Historians tend to assess the authenticity and effectiveness of these games as messengers of history to a broader audience?

1 Answers 2017-04-03

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco claims that Pope John and his allies endorsed art depicting Jesus with purses and coins to challenge the Franciscan assertions of apostolic poverty, even giving the crucified Christ a money pouch. Does this have a basis in reality?

I had assumed that the poverty debates between Avignon and the Franciscans hadn't overlapped into art, but on reflection it does seem plausible. Was the papacy and Avignon's allies producing or endorsing works which specifically cast Christ and/or His companions as a man of earthly possessions and financial means?

2 Answers 2017-04-03

Why did the Soviet Union choose to install communist governments in eastern Europe instead of outright annexing? Were there ever any goals of eventually annexing communist nations into the Soviet Union as SSRs?

Title.

1 Answers 2017-04-03

What is the historical consensus on if the Reichstag Fire was a false flag?

I've been searching this subreddit and Google and I can't really find a good answer to this straightforward question: what is the consensus on if the Reichstag fire was a so-called "false-flag" attack? Is there a consensus?

I realize we'll never know "for sure," but I'd like to know what we think happened.

1 Answers 2017-04-03

Are todays perception of the inquisition colored too much by protestant propaganda?

One thing that strikes me when reading books about Martin Luther and his movement is his harsh anti catholicism propaganda. The pope was antichrist, the devil, and evil can be rightfully blamed and so on. Catholisism was banned for centuries in many protestant countries, and we know there were a lot of anti catholicism propaganda going on.

So the question is just how much? The inquisition doesnt seem to be anything special, considering "witches" and similars were being killed also in protestant countries.

1 Answers 2017-04-03

How come no other countries invaded the United States during their civil war?

How come no other world powers invaded during the divided nation or directly after the war when many of the Military forces were weakened?

2 Answers 2017-04-03

Before the first test, how real was the concern from scientists that splitting the atom would cause a chain reaction beyond the bomb itself to ignite the entire atmosphere?

1 Answers 2017-04-03

Books on Port Cities

In line with this week's theme, what are some good books on port cities that i can read up on to get a brief summary on the historiography of shipping?

Cheers

2 Answers 2017-04-03

How come some high schools don't teach about the malmedy massacre?.

I recently learned about this when watching saints and soldier's last night. When we learned about WW2 in highschool they never brought this up why is that??. Is it because it was only 70 deaths they always focused on the holocaust and bigger things that happened.

1 Answers 2017-04-03

How impactful were the Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto on the implementation of governance in Communist countries of the 20th century?

In The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels provided ten planks, or suggestions, as to how they thought a transitory state working from capitalism towards communism could achieve its goals. After the failure of the revolutions of 1848, Marx would later preface these suggestions by saying "no special stress" should be given them. However, it is easy to see correlations between these suggestions and how state governance in Communist* countries played out. That being said, many Marxists minimize the influence of the Manifesto as it does not represent Marx's thought in its most "mature" form. So, how much of an impact did these planks have on state governance in Communist* countries?

*By "Communist" I mean countries such as the USSR, Cuba and the People's Republic of China, which were governed by Communist parties.

The Ten Planks:

  1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
  1. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
  2. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
  3. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
  4. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
  5. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
  6. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
  7. Equal liability of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
  8. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.
  9. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc.

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch02.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifesto#Influence

Preface to the Manifesto:

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/preface.htm

1 Answers 2017-04-03

Turning performance of the Fw 190 D-9?

I'm a big fan of both full-fidelity and arcade-level flight sims, but there's one piece of confusion that always stuck out to me, that being during interviews with pilots who had flown both the Bf 109 and the Fw 190s before such as this gentleman, the pilots themselves would almost always recount that the Fw 190, especially the long-nosed Dora series were far more maneuverable, even when it comes to turning, when compared to the Bf 109. This however, is the opposite of almost every flight sim I've played before, where low-speed maneuverability of the Fw 190 save for roll rate tend to be quite a bit inferior to the Bf 109.

Could pilots have remembered the true performance of their plane wrong, or has developers consistently modeled the plane wrong? Is there data sheets that adds backing to either claim?

1 Answers 2017-04-03

Taller personalities of the Wars of the Roses

Somewhat surprised that Reddit doesn't appear to have a dedicated sub for the period, given how fascinating it is. TudorHistory seemed a bit stuffy about anything prior to the coronation of Henry VII, despite the direct correlation between the Tudor period and the dynastic struggles of the previous three decades (and the direct participation of Henry and his family in the conflicts). So, here I am.

At any rate, aside, from Edward IV (and any other Plantagenets), were there any notable personalities in the period who were known to be remarkably tall for the time? The less historically prominent the better, actually, if there were any knights or lesser lords whose height somehow got mentioned at some point in somebody's contemporary accounts. Early war (Percy-Neville feud to Towton) would be even better. I've got a pretty solid grasp on the period's people, battles and politics, but this kind of minutiae is probably the realm of somebody who has done actual scholarly research on it with the primary sources.

A seemingly strange question, I know. Hopefully it isn't considered "trivia" according to the rules.

1 Answers 2017-04-03

When did "bohemian" turn in to "czech"?

1 Answers 2017-04-03

Does self-sustaining automation (if achieved) fit Marx's labour based theory of value?

If humans hypothetically (in the distant future) manage to create automated machines that could (eventually) extract resources, build, and maintain themselves. Powered by AI. How would this affect Marx's labour based theory of value? Who would* 'own' the produced value of the machines?

Side question: To what extent is an intellectual process considered labour? If someone spends years developing a mathematical equation that improves the efficiency of labourers in a given field, to what extent is that person responsible for the increased value? Does any of the research count as labor? All of it?

Sorry if these are frequently asked questions guys. I tried to research this myself and a lot of answers are conflicting or address points that orbit my question, but without any concrete answer.

Thanks again guys!

*EDIT (for Clarification): I mean who would 'rightfully' own the value. I am assuming that Marx believe labourers are entitled to the value of their production. If I am misinformed please correct me.

1 Answers 2017-04-03

Is American/European history being rewritten to justify "white guilt?" What basis if any in historical fact do these claims (listed in post) have?

Here is the post in question. I don't mean to try and start a mud slinging contest or to attack OP. I've seen these claims A LOT from a lot of different sources and people, enough so that I feel the need to ask the experts.

The linked post is a good example of what I've seen, but here are the claims I'm specifically asking about:

  1. The claim that white Europeans weren't really as involved in slavery as people are led to believe because a) Africans were largely responsible for the African slave trade and/or b) Islamic nations were much worse about it than Europeans.

  2. The Inquisition and the Crusades were justified by Islam expansionism.

  3. Islamic countries have committed more and worse genocides than anyone else.

  4. The Native Americans exterminated themselves via natural disease vectors and cannibalism. Also they sacrificed children.

  5. The U.S. incorporated some Iriquois traditional into the U.S. Constitution.

  6. America led the global abolitionist movement.

  7. Asia was completely unstable and uncivilized until "secular democracy" came along.

I know this is a huge breadth of questions to ask, but whenever I see these claims they (much like the linked comment) come in this dizzying flurry covering all different periods and places in history.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Thanks everybody, this has been a really cool experience for me. I've never posted on r/AskHistorians before and it's really blown me away. This has been one of the best Reddit experiences I've ever had. So again, Thanks!

6 Answers 2017-04-03

when ever a new military technology is introduced often there's moral objections to it being used (the current one being drones). was there any popular objection to navies using powered ships in place of sails?

2 Answers 2017-04-03

How did people in the Middle Ages deal with wisdom teeth?

Did they pull them out or did they just suffer with them?

3 Answers 2017-04-03

If the colonies that eventually became the United States and Canada equally "British" in the 18th Century, why weren't the Canadian colonies invited to participate in the Continental Congress and eventually the Revolutionary War?

Did they already consider themselves separate at that time? Why?

4 Answers 2017-04-03

I have read that the ancient Greeks and Romans disliked pants, and thought of them as "barbarous garments". so were pants even a "thing" in that time in history and is there any historic sources that either support or deny this claim?

the source of my question comes from this "newsite" and sounds a bit far fetched.

is there any evidence to support the claim that both ancient Greece and Rome disliked pants? and if pants were even an actual article of clothing at that time?

1 Answers 2017-04-03

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