How quickly did it become clear that purchasing, Alaska, or "Seward's Icebox," for $7.2 million had actually been a good deal? Should we take seriously the claims of some economists that it was actually a bad deal?

This is really two questions:

  1. When did Americans go from deriding the purchase as waste to the current consensus that it had actually been a net positive? The gold rush? The discovery of oil? What convinced people, and what facts were salient in that turnaround?
  2. Economist David Barker (and several other economists) argued that the purchase of Alaska was actually a bad deal from a federal government standpoint. Does this argument have legs? Did the purchase of Alaska bring a net benefit to the nation? What about in terms of the federal balance sheet?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

We know about the US internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, was there an internment of members of the German-American Bund during that time?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

Did an Aztec "colonial aristocracy" form in Mexico after the spanish conquest? If not, why didn't it happen?

In Peru, the Panacas (the "incan royal houses") who assisted the Spanish Conquistadors kept their aristocratic status in Colonial Peru. In fact, many pieces of peruvian colonial art were financed by Incan patrons, and they ended up having great pride of their ancestry.

This caste would be abolished around the late 18th century, after the Great Rebellion of Tupac Amaru, when an Incan noble who claimed descent from the last Incan ruler organized an armed rebellion to vanquish the Spaniards.

Did the spaniards recognize an Aztec (or Tlaxcala?) nobility during the colonial years? If not, why didn't this happen?

2 Answers 2022-01-07

Friday Free-for-All | January 07, 2022

Previously

Today:

You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.

As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.

6 Answers 2022-01-07

(1600-1660) What is “Green Bacon” and is it the same bacon we refer to today?

Currently diving deeper into recipes from the days of old specifically “The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight”. I’ve run into references of “green bacon” for a dish I’m quite tickled to re-create. After looking up this green bacon I’ve found a couple recipes on it but I’d like to make sure this is the same Green Bacon referred to in Digbys writings as he lived during the early half of the 1600s and it goes without saying that’s a long time ago. Any culinary Historians able to shed some insight on if I’m looking in the right place? Thanks!

And -before I get asked- I currently refer to project Gutenberg for all my old recipes!

1 Answers 2022-01-07

Why was the use of lead and asbestos so widespread in the modern period (and earlier) when their detrimental effects have been known for centuries?

The metanarrative/received wisdom - at least in the UK - surrounding lead/asbestos and their general phase-out in contemporary society generally goes something like this: 'Lead/asbestos was really useful because it corrodes slowly/is really good at stopping fire and is found everywhere, but like radium watches etc we did not understand the dangers during e.g the industrial revolution (where they were ubiquitous) - we are now Smarter and Wiser and have phased it out'.

However, I found out only today that not only has both lead AND asbestos poisoning been understood since antiquity (as one of the first major environmental hazards!), but that this was so well known that it was accounted for (?) - from an earlier askhistorians thread:

The issue of lead pipes comes from standing water. When water simply sits in pipes, it will then pick up trace parts of the metal it sits in [...] This is important because you have to remember that the majority of the Roman water delivery system was basic gravity fed. Over long distances, the Roman aqueducts would only decline by no more than five degrees at most. This kept the water flowing constantly.

Similarly for asbestos, from this JAMA letter:

A truly new disease has a classic description to which little can be added as time goes on, but the unwary reporter of a "new" disease who ignores classical literature, whether medical or not, is apt to be only a resurrection man. Asbestosis is so "new" a disease that industry has reluctantly accepted it as an occupational hazard. And yet Strabo, the Greek geographer and historian (63 B. C.—24 A. D.) described the dangers of asbestos weaving, and Pliny the Younger (61-113 A. D.), in his description of the diseases of slaves, called asbestosis an occupational disease. Both writers stated that the use of asbestos in the manufacture of handkerchiefs, headcloths, and tablecloths was common, and that the cost of these articles was equal

I recognise that the idea of 'lost classical wisdom' is generally unhelpful or unrealistic, but on the wikipedia page for lead poisoning it suggests:

With the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, lead poisoning became common in the work setting. The introduction of lead paint for residential use in the 19th century increased childhood exposure to lead; for millennia before this, most lead exposure had been occupational. An important step in the understanding of childhood lead poisoning occurred when toxicity in children from lead paint was recognized in Australia in 1897. France, Belgium, and Austria banned white lead interior paints in 1909; the League of Nations followed suit in 1922. However, in the United States, laws banning lead house paint were not passed until 1971, and it was phased out and not fully banned until 1978.

I struggle to believe that we collectively somehow forgot that lead/asbestos are toxic - my best guess is that a combination of lobbying and under-education of the population, which resulted in other horrors during the industrial period, would account for this. But i'd like to hear from someone more knowledgeable how these substances really took off (especially in the modern UK period) and caused so much damage, when their effects have apparently always been known.

2 Answers 2022-01-07

Did Cyrus the Great have plans to build Persepolis?

I recently saw a video titled 20 greatest Archaeological discoveries of 2021(Ancient)(https://youtu.be/RSOUrsU0A5A) 9 was the Gates of Cyrus in Persepolis I decided to go look for things on it but all I found was news articles with pretty similar things to say. I was wondering if theres anything on it? Such as its reason for construction like did Cyrus plan to build persepolis and Darius used these plans?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

On Reddit and other social media, Eisenhower's farewell address where he critiques the military industrial complex was very popular and oft quoted. What was the context behind this critical mention? Was this part considered noteworthy or controversial at that time?

2 Answers 2022-01-07

Are there artifacts made from metallic meteorites?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

Why ancient celts are pictured in clothes with striped/checkerboard patterns?

Can't find any reliable sources about their clothes and curious from where did it come. Did roman/greek sources describe their clothes in such manner or historians somehow were able to find a remaining pieces with such patterns?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

In 1974 why did the Republic of Cyprus not provide any and all necessary concessions for peace, even if painful, after the original Turkish invasion that took 3% of the island given that eventually Turkey ended up with 36% of the island?

The Turkish army originally invaded and only took 3% of the island. There were then peace negotiations. Why did the Republic allow peace negotiations to break down, unless that is my misconception, considering the relative military imbalance? The Turkish army eventually took 36% of the island including Famagusta

1 Answers 2022-01-07

Why did Henry the 5th travel to Agincourt?

On a map, it seems as if he travelled past Paris to get to Agincourt. Was Paris not as important then or was there an important reason he travelled that far across France. I am assuming he landed at Calais or somewhere near there.

1 Answers 2022-01-07

Why was the secret service tasked with protecting presidents?

After president McKinley was assassinated in 1901, the secret service was commissioned by congress to protect the president.

The secret service’s usual task was to stop counterfeiters.

Why was this department chosen instead of creating a new department? It seems rather random.

1 Answers 2022-01-07

how were pikes carried ?

so i was watching a video on alexander and his conquests and this question came to my mind. how did they cary their pikes ? since they were so big it would be uncomfertable to just walk with them. and its not like they could have just put it in their supply trains since they were already tight on space. so how did they do it ?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

The English longbow was very effective against heavy-armored cavalry,how well did it against infantry formation like shield wall and testudo?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

How did Alexander the Great populate the cities he founded?

Who actually lived in the cities when Alexander founded them? Would he leave hundreds of people from his army? Were people from other cities forced to move there? I’m really curious to know.

Thanks

1 Answers 2022-01-07

On the 2020 US Census, the question regarding race lists people from Egypt and Lebanon as examples of "white". Have people of Middle Eastern/North African descent always been officially classified as "white" in the US, and were they historically considered white by everyday Americans?

The exact wording of the question:

  1. What is Person 1's race?

[ ] White – Print, for example, German, Irish, English, Italian,Lebanese, Egyptian, etc.

1 Answers 2022-01-07

How deeply involved was Putin in the false flag Russian apartment bombings?

We know that the FSB faked Chechen involvement in the attacks to justify another war against Chechnya, but how involved was Putin personally? Did he order the attacks to boost his domestic popularity?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

Today it seems that mental illness is common and well discussed. How was mental illness dealt historically? Are there any text on mental illness or evidence that mental illness was common?

I was just curious on how mental illness was dealt in the past. Roman times, medieval times, renaissance, ect….
Today we have medicine and therapy. What did they have then?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

What did people think caused the sparks of static electricity between bedsheets before electricity was discovered?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

What evidence is there that Stalin actually said something along the lines of"The Pope. How many divisions does he have?" If he did say it, in which context did it really happen?

It seems to me that it is claimed that the phrase (or a variation of it) was uttered in many different events, from Yalta all the way back to 1935, and to different people (Roosevelt, Churchill, Laval).

Do we have actual proof that the phrase was even uttered? If so, when and how did it take place?

2 Answers 2022-01-07

What was life like in the Soviet Gulags?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

Why didn't norsemen use stone for buildings in the Middle Ages?

All their fortresses are made of wood. Why?

1 Answers 2022-01-07

Russia reconquered Chechnya in 2000 and then squashed the local insurgents. Chechnya has been surprisingly quiet since. What did Russia do to so effectively quell guerillas on their (mountainous) home turf? How did it differ from Russia's failed counterinsurgency operation in Afghanistan?

2 Answers 2022-01-06

We know that in the Precolumbian world there was little contact between Native American peoples. Yet during colonial times, Mesoamerican, Southwest and East Coast natives would all be subjugated by maritime powers. How did Indians react to each others’ history? Was their a sense of shared kinship?

1 Answers 2022-01-06

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