What allows historians to combine the various religious wars in the Holy Roman Empire at the beginning of the 17th century into the Thirty Years War, but prevents them from combining WWI and WWII into a similar grouping, despite both conflicts being fought over a similar scope of time, and each maintaining strong ties from the end of the first war in the "period" to the motivations for the second?

Did Marinus Van Der Luube burn down the Reichstag or was it a 'false flag' by the Nazis?

I was reading about the Sturmabteilung (SA) recently and came across some information (on wikipedia, at least) indicating that Ernst Röhm, leader of the SA up until his death, and both a large portion of the leadership as well as the membership of the SA were gay. It's well known that homosexuals were sent to the concentration camps, so if this is the case how did such a powerful faction in Nazi Germany come to be controlled largely by gay men?

I'm currently reading it for the first time was wondering what modern historians think of it. Specifically I was wondering what they think about his thesis of German susceptibility to totalitarianism.

I am a Canadian who has only had limited experience shooting guns (i.e. gun ranges in Las Vegas). However, everything about those experiences indicates to me that the notion of firing a gun while riding a horse at virtually any speed would be an exercise in futility. However, countless films & TV shows about the "western" era show characters shooting handguns and rifles on horseback to reasonable effect.

Is this just a cinematic trope that is shockingly unrealistic once given any serious thought? Or do I underestimate the skill that humans are capable of developing given enough practice?

We're people in these time periods known for actually being able to use firearms effectively from horseback, at speed?

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I have heard that the origins of the mother and child image in worship started in ancient Babylon. Was there a worship of a mother and child image in ancient Babylon of a prominence that we can conclude that it spread to other places? Thank you.

Like if a king killed a family member in a fit of rage? I suppose the middle ages in particular.

Hey all,

For those who didn't know, during the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the state of Venice underwent a series of reforms that locked a large number of citizens out of the democratic process while consolidating the power of a few select families.

1. what were the primary internal causes of this shift?
2. what were the immediate effects within the Republic? Focusing on reaction from the populace.
3. what were the long-term political effects, both for Venice, and for Europe and the Mediterranean more broadly?

thanks!

Jesus had disciples around him all the time but did he have anyone specifically dedicated to protecting him?

In ancient times what was the explanation for static electricity? Surely this must have been a rather strange thing to people who did not know the science behind it. Are there any accounts of static electricity attempting to be explained? Did it play any major roles in the mythology of ancient cultures?

I'm having a little bit of trouble researching this topic. The novel I'm writing has a scene where our main character, who is black, is supposed to fly from a fictional city to Chicago in 1968. He is portrayed as an average middle class African-American boy. Is it unrealistic for him to be flying? And how far, in advance, could one purchase a ticket for a flight in 1968? Thanks in advance.

I am very familiar with Western equivalents, such as "On the Beach", "War Games", and "Alas Babylon" but can't name a single book or movie from the Soviet Union dealing with the same subject. I tried googling it but it mostly just turns up American and British movies about the Soviet Union.

I understand the whole "Vikings in America" thing, but if people knew Greenland and Iceland were out there between the end of the viking age and the voyage of Columbus, why did people not think to keep exploring even after the knowledge of America was lost? Was there just no impetus to explore or was it thought that Greenland was all that existed to the west and not worth visiting?

I asked this a while back after re watching the Band of Brothers series and noticing a scene in which an officer reminds troopers to sign the paperwork for their $10,000 life insurance policy through the U.S government right before they drop in Normandy.

I'm still curious if anyone knows how expensive it was, and anything else on the subject of life insurance in this time period. Thanks!

Were there provincial officials appointed by the Shogunate? Did they actually exercise any power independent of a region's daimyo?

I always presumed that training a man to fight, equipping him and keeping him fed/paid would have required many times his number to pay for his service. Thus, a large army would require a large population of farmers and manufacturers, right? This makes me wonder how Denmark in the Dark Ages, if so lacking in agricultural output, was able to train and equip the thousands of 'professional' soldiers.

The impression I'm working off is mostly based on Bernard Cornwell's Saxon novels, if that helps explain any incorrect assumptions I've made.

Thanks in advance!

I have my 3x great grandmas diary and she traveled with her parents to California from Magnolia, Illinois during the California gold rush when she 9 years old. I've been looking for wagon trails from Illinois and can't find anything from that starting place. 'm also looking for a rough estimate for how long the journey from Illinois would take.

A couple random follow up questions:

Her mother died during this journey, what would they of done with the body?

Would they most likely be in a wagon train or did a lot travel solo?

If anyone has any helpful links I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you for any help you provide!