How did native Americans deal with such harsh winter temperatures (Especially polar vortexes)?

5 Answers 2016-02-14

I'd like to learn more about Marco Polo and Sir Francis Drake, what books would you recommend?

I checked the book list and also the list compiled by users of this sub but couldn't find any. I don't want to just pick up any book with their names on, I really want to find the most accurate books that I could. Thanks for any help you can give.

1 Answers 2016-02-14

What was life like for a peasant living under the Knights Templar, or some other such Holy Order?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

How did the Southern US become so conservative?

I've always assumed it was a chain reaction dating back to Puritans but those people also moved to Massachusetts. Today, Massachusetts and the rest of the Northeast is not like the South. How did this happen?

2 Answers 2016-02-14

I've heard the Viking Conquest happened due to overpopulation back home. What caused this?

To the best of my knowledge there were no advances in medicine and people were still killing each other. Why in the 800s were there suddenly too many people?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

A mining professor told me "more people have been killed in South Africa's gold mines than in all of World War I." Is there any evidence to support this claim?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

US Supreme Court and Judicial History MEGATHREAD

Hello everyone,

With the death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia yesterday, the Supreme Court is dominating the news cycle, and we have already noticed a decided uptick in questions related to the court and previous nomination controversies. As we have done a few times in the past for topics that have arrived suddenly, and caused a high number of questions, we decided that creating a Megathread to "corral" them all into one place would be useful to allow people interested in the topic a one-stop thread for it.

As with previous Megathreads, keep in mind that like an AMA, top level posts should be questions in their own right. However, we do not have a dedicated panel, even if a few of the Legal History flairs are super excited to check in through the day, so anyone can answer the questions, as long as that answer meets our standards of course!

Additionally, this thread is for historical questions about the American Judicial system, so we ask that discussion or debate about the likely nomination battle coming up, or recent SCOTUS decisions, be directed to a more appropriate sub, as they will be removed from here.

33 Answers 2016-02-14

Is the architectural and masonic knowledge required to construct a gothic cathedral, such as Notre-Dame de Paris, with traditional methods preserved today?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | February 08, 2016–February 14, 2016

Previous

Today:

Welcome to this week's instalment of /r/AskHistorians' Sunday Digest (formerly the Day of Reflection). Nobody can read all the questions and answers that are posted here, so in this thread we invite you to share anything you'd like to highlight from the last week - an interesting discussion, an informative answer, an insightful question that was overlooked, or anything else.

4 Answers 2016-02-14

Why do fire stations have poles but police stations don't?

Surely they both need to get there quickly?

2 Answers 2016-02-14

When did we stop using two men duels to settle wars? Was this form of warring typical around the world?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

Did Aristotle's teachings to Alexander the Great facilitate him in conquering lands later?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

What books were removed from the Christian bible? Why were they removed? And who decided it was best?

What was there purpose from a historical perspective to alter one of the most influential scripts in the world? Thnx!

2 Answers 2016-02-14

I saw a passing reference to the British peacetime army being wiped out completely during World War I and wondered how accurate that is, and how other major countries fared?

I am also curious to learn of how this compares to WWII if possible.

1 Answers 2016-02-14

What happened to all the children of prostitutes before birth control and such came along?

Before birth control, prostitutes must have been pregnant like 24/7, so what happened to all these enormous amounts of kids? Or did they use some other method than what we are using now? Or did they figure out abortions back then already?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

How were slaves transported to Rome if legions were not allowed to cross the Rubicon?

So when a Roman army won a battle and captured a large amount of slaves I can understand how they could guard them to reach Italy's borders, they are an army after all.

What I'm curious about though, is if they were not allowed to cross the Rubicon how they would get the slaves from the border to Rome itself (or any other relevant city for that matter).

Was there some internal group that would take over care of these new slaves? Was a certain part of the legion allowed to cross in order to guard them? How did this work?

2 Answers 2016-02-14

Is there any truth to the rumor that Julius Caesar had a sexual relationship with the king of Bithynia?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

What were these titles and their requirements of this obscure, medieval French noblemen?

Agoult de Baux, d.1346/7, Sg. de Caromb, Brantes, Le Barroux, St Léger, Sénéchal Beaucaire, and Nimes 1340, Toulouse/Albi 1342, Cap. gén. en Languedoc

Agoult de Baux was the last son of Bertran III of Baux (died 1304 or 1305), Count of Avellino and Lord of Baux. Agoult's titles are listed as such above, but past "Captain Generale", I'm having trouble deciphering acronyms and, at that, understanding the historical context of what those jobs ans titles meant.

What would Agoult do as "Captain Generale" of Languedoc?

Where would this son of a Lord of Baux live?

What on Earth are those other titles?

Please put this all in historical job description clarity for me!

1 Answers 2016-02-14

Did the classical composers (Mozart, Beethoven, etc) have groupies in the sense that 80s rock stars had them?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

When and how was coal discovered in Colorado?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

What were the key differences between Marxist-Leninism and Maoism?

And did they diverge after the Sino-Soviet split or before?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

How did Luxembourg survive?

As someone who reads a lot of medieval history, I am fully aware of the myriad of tiny states that Europe once was. I'm sure I don't have to explain the situation in this subreddit for sure.

But one thing I notice as I look closer and closer towards modern history, is the arrival of larger states in Europe, reflective of large cultural groups (i.e. Germany and Italy). Almost all the tiny states of Europe merged or were swallowed up, besides a few anomalies like Lichtenstein and Andorra. But my question is: how did Luxembourg keep its independence? Why wasn't it integrated into Germany because it was Germanic, or annexed by the Netherlands because of its political ties?

Thanks in advance!

1 Answers 2016-02-14

How accurate is this recently viral video on the history of Japan?

https://youtu.be/Mh5LY4Mz15o

Surely it must have traded some accuracy for simplification and convenience?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

How did the Turkish people start off?

I've been looking for information and it seems so scattered. I don't know what it is a credible source and what isn't, any help is appreciated.

3 Answers 2016-02-14

Did European medieval armies have special forces units?

I am aware of ninjas in Japan and their use as special forces units by the various feudal lords, but were there European counterparts? I am aware the the Swiss provided mercenaries during the Hundred Years War, and the Free Companies provided services to the English as well. Where there any others?

1 Answers 2016-02-14

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