I looked at the book list and found "The Age of Exploration". I'm going to read that, but it's quite old and I need more recent material/theories. Any ideas ?

I have Polish Catholic ancestry, but some relatives think our ancestors who came from Poland to the US in the late 19th century, or possibly those living in Poland a generation or two before, were Jewish.

Unfortunately all the people of my Grandparent's generation are deceased, and I haven't been able to find much info in genealogical records. I'm hoping to get more historical insight on the questions of: how common was 19th century Polish Jews converting to Catholicism? Why did people convert?

Was it because he withdrew from the race in mid-July? I'm confused because he fulfilled the 5% of the popular vote threshold for third party candidates.

Every so often on historical subreddits I'll see a debate about the morality of using the atomic bomb. I'm sure you've all seen the arguments, so I'm not going to address them. But were there any critics after the bombs were dropped in 1945? Did anyone find them unnecessary or cruel?

I am wondering how long have we been distilling spirits? My hunch is that it's not that long, somewhere late middle ages maybe?

I’ve never heard much about what belief systems were common in the region before the Slavs and Khazars—but given the linguistic and cultural connections with Persia, it seems plausible that there might have been some religious influence as well.

For example, could the Bulgars have been exposed to elements of dualism which they then carried west with them, contributing to the rise of the Bogomils and Cathars?

I mean, I presume they couldn't just take the clippings back to the mint without admitting they were clipping coins, right? So, what exactly did they do with the clippings to gain some benefit from the practice?

Others that don't even sound very European include Odd, Unn, Bork, Ref, and Hakon. What is the story behind these names?

Why was Peter The Great unsuccessful in turning Russia more European?

Were they trying to help Germany make their war reparations payments? Was this a roundabout way of helping Wall Street recuperate their war loans to the Allies? What was the reasoning behind it?

First of all, greetings. I've been looking for the right sub to post these questions and this is the one that seems likely to be the most appropiate so far. If I am breaking the rules or you believe that I should post this elsewhere, then I beg your pardon and sincerely ask you to suggest me a good sub to put this query on.

I am starting to do a deep research for a personal project I'm working on and I really need accurate and specific info on these two topics.

Regarding to the War of 1812:

• What did soldiers wear, eat, do when not in combat?
• What did sailors/privateers wear, eat, how where their living conditions, etc? What kind of ships were used for war and for trading? What were the ranks of the Royal Navy at that time? Basically, how was life at sea for both sides during that turbulent period? *What was the currency used at that time for both americans and british?
• How was life for the average american throughout the conflict?

Regarding to 1840-1860's Victorian London:

• Which where the different "levels" that formed or composed the overall of the Victorian society at that time? What was the dress code for any of those levels (from beggars to royalty)
• In how many districts was London divided at that time and which kind of people used to live in every one of them?
• What and how were the living conditions of the people living in the slums of London?
• How was life for the average citizen? What did he wear, eat, in what did he work, etcetera?
• What was the currency at that period?

As you can see, I have many questions, but I don't know where to find appropiate answers for them, so I thought that I could start in here. If you people could you suggest me any books, maps, even movies, something that can help me with that, I'd be very, very grateful.

I'll be waiting for your answers. Muchas gracias! God bless.

Excluding Gibraltar.

Sorry for vagueness.. Meaning, with ease of manufacturing and technology, are there any turn-of-the-century products that cost people at the time $5, but thanks to today's industry kept the $5 price tag for us?

This is a quote from William Manchester's "A World Lit Only by Fire:

"Again and again, in recalling Satan's attacks on him, Luther uses the crude verb bescheissen, which describes what happens when someone soils you with his Scheiss. In another demonic stratagem, an apparition of the prince of darkness would humiliate the monk by "showing his arse" (Steiss). Fighting back, Luther adopted satanic tactics. He invited the devil to "kiss" or "lick" his Steiss, threatened to "throw him into my anus, where he belongs," to defecate "in his face" or, better yet, "in his pants" and then "hang them around his neck."

Is this at all accurate? I personally find it hilarious and truly hope that this actually occurred.