I propose that because of machines proving to be a cheaper worksource than people, slavery was easier to abolish.

I've seen wine. And I've seen the sea. Neither of them look anything alike. One can be a light/dark blue, or green, and the other one is typically a dark red. How did the association between wine and the sea come about?

In other words, have there been any back-to-back presidents from the same party who were not the vice president of the immediate past president?

This may have been asked and answered already but haven't been able to find it, if so. Thanks!

It just seems a bit too far fetched to me that anybody would put explosives so close to their face; fearsome pirate or not.

Or is today's disparity merely attributable to the post-WW2 division?

I know Byzantium became Constantinople, but I've read that Constantinople was built atop the old city of Byzantium. What does this mean? Did the Romans raze the city and start from scratch or did they leave the city layout intact and add important/prominent buildings?

I'm watching Game of Thrones (I know it's a fictionnal land but...) and I was wondering if it was ''easy'' to behead someone or cut one of his limbs in a fight with a sword.

Thanks !!

I was talking with my AP European History teacher and she didn't know. So, I figured I would ask some well-read historians.

Im interested in something about the historical influences and events that led to these stark differences today.

And if not which year in recent history did the least number of deaths from war occur?

Let me preface this by saying that I am not Jewish (except for some distant ancestry) and I don't really know that much about Jewish culture or religion, but I've always found Jewish history to be a fascinating subject. However, I was wondering how Jewish culture reacted to things like the introduction of tobacco. Was it kosher? Was there any kind of litmus test for determining which new plants/animals were appropriate to eat, or were they just all assumed to be okay because otherwise god would have already mentioned them?

Haha, this sounds kind of stupid when I type it out but I'm gonna submit this question anyway. More generally I'm interested to know about Jewish cultural reactions to the colonization of the new world in general. When did the first Jews move to the new world?

I look at the political map of Africa, and I cringe. So many countries, borders all screwed up, countries inside countries, etc. And Sub-Saharan Africa is generally the poorest, least developed region in the world, from my understanding.

Yet South America is similar in climate and terrain, but today a political map of South America is border porn. To me, at least, it has a beautiful division of land between just a handful of nations, and while that continent certainly has its own problems, they aren't nearly as bad as Africa's. Why is this?

Did Germany overall benefit economically from enslaving and killing millions of Jews, Gypsies and other 'undesirables' between 1933 and 1945? Individuals and certain private companies benefited, of course, but what was the overall economic impact? Ignoring the hideous human toll for the moment, as well as the accompanying world war, can the net profit/loss to the German nation of the Holocaust be quantified?

I was always taught that the persecuted Jews of Europe were given a homeland in the Middle East to make up for what happened in WWII. I doubt this because genocides have happened before and since without a new state being formed in so foreign a land. I have also heard conspiracy theories that I don't want to believe either. So historians, give it to me straight.

I've just read some stuff about the Dutch invasion of England in 1688. Apparantly, William of Orang crossed the Channel by invite of the English aristocracy. However, William did have a large number of Dutch troops with him, and these troops actually occupied London. So was it really a revolution, or an invasion?

My friend, who has done extensive research on pagan mythologies and Sumerian records, tells me that all of the ancient Mesopotamian cultures, and also all classical paganistic religions stem from the mythology of the Anannuki. If any Mesopotamian experts could weigh in, I'd love to know more about a common source of pagan religions.
I guess any answer to this question will have to first define "classical Paganism", without really delving into modern neo-paganism. Please include sources.

The Bible makes several references to practicing Astrology to detect holy events, including the Magi finding Jesus, and David predicting the future. It seems like god is directly endorsing astrology, yet today it is considered satanic or an evil act by many Christian practitioners. What caused this shift?

Edit: I'm not aware of the Catholic church taking an official stance on astrology, this reflects more the general sentiment.

I always wondered how things like Julius Caesar's Commentarii and other Greek or Roman texts have survived.
Where were they found?Who preserved them for so long?

Did historians just recreate them form multiple sources?

EDIT: forgot to mentioned that i am mainly interested in texts from the Antiquity.

Curious about the Judicial review authority in the US while there is no mention of it in the US constitution.