AskHistorians Archive Observer

Significance of US presidents and government officials in colonial times?

1 Answers 2015-01-18

Did royalty ever get an inkling that birth defects was a cause of marrying their family members?

I mean...after generations of marrying cousins to cousins, wouldn't you realize that your kids keep turning out like ruined pancakes?

EDIT: Did royalty every get an inkling that birth defects were caused by marrying their family member? (I have no idea what it going on with my title, there.)

1 Answers 2015-01-18

I'm doing a physics project on the mechanics of Roman Ballistae, but a relatively thorough google search has proved fruitless on the specifications of larger ballistae. Can anyone help?

All I really need is the length the spring is pulled back from equilibrium, the weight of the projectile, the distance it could fire at a certain angle. If people could find the spring factor that'd be great too, but I can solve for it I believe.

1 Answers 2015-01-18

What is the oldest known case of a serial killer, and how were they dealt with?

1 Answers 2015-01-18

Are there any first-hand accounts of games of Russian Roulette?

1 Answers 2015-01-17

British muskets couldn't compete with the longbow for firepower during the Napoleonic war - why did we change?

1 Answers 2015-01-17

What's the story behind the Putin tourist photo?

This photograph allegedly shows a young KGB agent Putin posing as a tourist near Regan in the 80's. You've probably seen it on the internet at one point or another.

Reddit said it was a hoax. What's the historical consensus on who the person is, and what they were doing? It kind of looks like Putin I guess, but who knows.

1 Answers 2015-01-17

I love coffee, if I traveled back to Revolutionary era America and tried the coffee there, would I probably still enjoy it? Would I recognize the brewing techniques? Would I easily be able to get cream and sugar with it?

11 Answers 2015-01-17

When did the first "attractions" begin to develop specifically to accommodate or entice "tourists?"

Which is to say: when did this type of traveler first become identifiable, and how did people try to exploit him or her?

1 Answers 2015-01-17

What caused the change of islam from the "lighthouse" of culture and tolerance in the Middle Ages to the decadent, repressor society of today?

1 Answers 2015-01-17

Independence of Croatia

1 Answers 2015-01-17

How are the world wars taught in Germany?

Interested in learning how World war 1 and 2 are taught today in Germany.

2 Answers 2015-01-17

Does modern result of gender bias have historical origin in Abrahamic religions or is it mainly a confluence of anthropological and biological reasons ?

Edit : What I mainly wanted to know is did Abrahamic religions have enough of a influence to mainly shape current day gender trends or is it mainly anthropological factors ?

3 Answers 2015-01-17

How high were the literacy in different time periods and cultures?

1 Answers 2015-01-17

What did folks make gutters out of before aluminum?

Just curious.

2 Answers 2015-01-17

What are the best sources/books on the fall of Rome?

1 Answers 2015-01-17

Did the Jews try to resist the Nazis through political means?

3 Answers 2015-01-17

Is there a reason why George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) is still published under her pseudonym?

Other females writers from the time who used pseudonym such as Jane Austin (Mrs Ashton Dennis) and the Bronte Sisters (Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily) and Acton (Anne) Bell) are now published under their real names yet we still call Mary Ann Evans by her male pseudonym. Why is this?

2 Answers 2015-01-17

How quickly did electrification spread worldwide? Would wealthy Russian or Japanese diplomats arriving in the US in 1905 be completely surprised by the availability of electricity in peoples homes?

3 Answers 2015-01-17

What was Napoleon trying to accomplish at Waterloo?

I'm trying to keep this from being a "What If" question as they aren't allowed, but I am confused as to what Napoleon's objectives were. From what I recall he was trying to split the Prussian and English armies…did he have a chance? Why was he trying to do this?

1 Answers 2015-01-17

What would Argentina be like if the British invasion of Buenos Aires had been successful and it had become part of the British Empire?

1 Answers 2015-01-17

What was the reaction at home in the USSR when the Soviets intervened in Afghanistan?

I've done readings and I've got the understanding that within a good portion of the political and military hierarchy it was an extremely unpopular decision to become involved. But what was the reaction amongst the average person? Was it something that most people could see coming? Was it a popular decision or was it more polarizing?

Also, if I can continue riding on the question to ask another question, what was the public reaction when the casualties numbers started coming back home?

1 Answers 2015-01-17

Black babies as bait for alligator hunt?

thanks so much for reading.

so I came across this short article and a few other similar ones after a search.

This can't possibly be true? I know slaves in the USA were treated with extreme brutality, but it isn't the horror of it that's silly.

A baby slave had a lot of potential value, much more than a chicken or some other animal they could use to bait gators instead.

The worth of that baby when grown and sold (or kept for work produced) would be way more than whatever they would get from catching a gator.

*disclaimer--Slavery was abhorrant and cruel, when I speak of a slave's 'worth' I hope you know what I mean, not the intrinsic value of every human being.

2 Answers 2015-01-17

English mile vs. Irish mile: How can I know which mile definition people were using in Ireland for the 1851 census?

Wikipedia tells me that "The Ordnance Survey of Ireland, from its establishment in 1824, used English miles." However, the [1851 Census of Ireland](http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser?path=Browse/Census%20(by%20date)/1851/Ireland&active=yes&mno=409&tocstate=expandnew&tocseq=500&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&pageseq=first-nonblank) does not tell me whether they were using English miles or Irish miles. How can we know what definition of mile historical sources such as this were using?

1 Answers 2015-01-17

Is there any evidence that the (Michael Collins era) I.R.A was going to wage a further insurgency in Northern Ireland after the treaty.

its something that was passed down from my great grandfather who was on the pro-treaty (free state) side of the civil war before later coming to the USA. ive never quite trusted it, but i have no reason not to. save for it being to good of a story.

1 Answers 2015-01-17