I find myself quite interested in the culture of the Gaulish peoples. I've read a version of Caesars books about the Gaulish wars, however it always seemed very ignorant and unreflected (like I expected). So are there any sources that describe the life and way of the Gauls that is not written by a Roman? Or eventually written by a Roman who is more open-minded than Caesar?

More than one is okay, as I know Western Expansion didn't happen overnight.

I was reading a biography of U.S. Grant, and it stated that after the capture of Vicksburg he paroled 30,000 captured confederate troops. The book went on to say that those captured had to promise not to take up arms again until officially exchanged.

This raised a few questions for me.

1. How did paroled troops find out if they were officially exchanged and allowed to take up arms again?
2. What would happen if a soldier broke his word and took up arms without being exchanged? Would he be imprisoned or have other significant negative consequences if he was captured?
3. How often did troops return to the fight after being paroled?
4. Were they treated decently when they returned home? Were they pressured to go fight again or did people generally leave them alone until official exchanges?
5. How often did exchanges actually occur?

Basically what the title says. It seems to me that historical information from the current day (ie information that will one day be historical) is present on an unprecedented scale. The 24-hour news cycle, social media, the Internet archive, etc.

How will historians deal with this exponential (and maybe even steeper!) increase in information in the coming decades and centuries? Are there any legitimate theories about how all this information will be handled and eventually turned into a historical narrative?

Will it perhaps become like medicine, where future historians must specialize further and further into very narrow sub-fields of history?

Aside from the obvious things with her being a woman, lower class, and claiming to hear angels talking to her.

It seems odd to me that somebody with no education or experience in military matters was able to pick up an army and win victories when the French had been struggling in general.

So roughly around the 18th century it became common, alongside introducing uniforms, to have a grooming standard in European (and later, American) militaries.

What confused me from paintings is that soldiers had a queue -- a sort of pony tail.

I know it fell out of favor and was replacesd by the high fade out of consern about headlice in the era of modern warfare, as well as being a hazard in close combat and with machinery.

But where did the idea of long-haired soldiers come from?

I know this is a weird question, but I'm honestly curious. Do we have old medieval bread recipes in museums or archives somewhere?

EDIT: Specifically, those considered Newly Industrialising Countries today. So, India, China etc. By socio-economic, I mean in terms of overall wealth, the closest thing to a GDP (obviously without figures but in that same vein of thought) and the social structure of the country.

My great grandmother on my Mom's side lived from 1903 to 2002 in the very rural and mountainous Virginia panhandle, and my grandmother on my Dad's side lived from 1915 until 1995 in various urban and suburban neighborhoods around Columbus and Dayton, Ohio. Despite being from culturally different regions of the country, both of these women never had drivers licenses and they always relied on others for transportation. This always struck me as odd that neither of them ever drove, but my parents claim this was normal for women of their generation. How common was this? What were the reasons for it?

Any data or sources on the impact that wireless marine radio had on the number of shipwrecks and loss of life at sea would be appreciated.

EDIT: Added this note: I reworded the question that I posted about 2 hours ago.

I mean the poor were always repressed and taken advantage of, but how exactly did the commoners overthrow the ruling class in this instance?

I know of some remarkable curse tablets of slaves that condemn others (e.g. an opponent in the chariot races), but I was wondering whether they also wrote them to 'hurt' their social superiors (be it their owners or a free man/woman in general).

Hi guys,

I've been trying to figure out what colour the uniform of the Praetorian Guard in Ancient Rome was. Some sources suggest they wore white, whilst others that they wore a sort of off-purple colour in deference to their status as Imperial bodyguards.

I had a thought that the colour may be different between the earlier period of the army, when Praetorians were the bodyguards of an army general, and later when the praetorians became the bodyguards of the emperor himself.

Any clarification is much appreciated. Many thanks!

Was he an effective Secretary of Defense? Was he an honest politician? What sort of criticism did he receive during and after his time in office?

Doh, slave's Sundays not slaves Sunday's.

And of course any further reading on the subject is welcome