Recently, Robert the Bruce's statue was daubed with the words “racist king BLM Black Lives Matter.” Is there any historical evidence supporting this accusation? Were there even people not of European descent in early 14th Century Scotland?

So clearly most LGBT labels as we know them today haven't existed as identities for very long. What I'm asking is what societies were most tolerant of same-sex activity, transgender people, and genders outside of the binary? Of course there's the obvious examples, like the Greeks, two-spirits, and Hijras, but did any societies accept or openly practice these things?

Was the military dictatorship that took over after the death of Oliver Cromwell and usurpation of his son in 1659 Europe's (and maybe the worlds) first military Junta? And if not what was the first?

I'm aware that there might be some discussion of what might count as a military junta and cases of armies usurping governments in the past, but for me personally this is the earliest I can think of where after the the coup a council of military generals was implemented. And if not I'd love hearing about earlier examples.

I read that the Etruscans invented Broccoli amongst many other plants. The word ”broccoli” is however of Italian origin. Has the original word for broccoli survived in some ancient texts?

Not sure if I should ask this here or post a new thread (someone lemme know if I should do something else) but I'm wondering if anyone can recommend any good Audible audiobooks, specifically in ancient history. Double-points for non-European; triple-points for American or Oceanic.

Also half-points for Egypt/Greece/Rome and 10x points (!!!!) for Hittites.

Basically I want to cancel my subscription and need to use the credits I have first. I already have 1177 BC (Eric Cline), SPQR (Mary Beard), Hittites (Captivating History), and The History of the Ancient World (Susan Bauer).

Globally, all cars have white lights at the front, and red at the back, one at each corner; how/when did this standard come about? Were there any competing configurations?

Why do old paintings show women who shave? I thought that the stereotypes of shaved women started in the 20th century. So why is that?

I've been reading recently on Ming naval warfare, and have run across references from Qi Jiguang's two editions of the Jixiao xinshu. The earlier refers to three types of ships and the later to eight types. The recommended number of soldiers and equipment are described in a few articles. However, I haven't seen mention in English-language references (whether by Papelitzky, Andrade, or others) of ship dimensions other than Deng and Kang (in "Chinese Maritime Activities and Socioeconomic Development, c. 2100 B.C.-1900 A.D.") referring to a single ship type of 40 meters length, 10 meters beam, and 3.5 meters draft. Did Qi Jiguang record information on the size of his suggested ships, or was it considered such common knowledge that the ship name was enough description for his readers to know the size of the ship being referred to? If they were recorded, what were the sizes?

Why are different regions of where a war is fought called "theaters"? ("pacific theater", for example).

Do we know how many Muslims there were at the time of Muhammad's death? 50? 100? 500?

Are Galleons faster than oarships due to their larger sail size and more advanced sail configuration? Did Galleons ever exist without cannons, and if so, what was sea warfare like without ranged weapons like that, because I don't think I've ever seen any Galleons equipped with rams the way triremes were.

When the Romans and others used urine to bleach or clean their clothes, did they do anything to it before hand?

Boil? Distill? Water down? Add soap?

I can't see them going in raw and getting a clean white product out of the other side.

When did gunpowder become widely used in England, France, etc? I was reading The Mirror and the Light, set in 1536, which mentions someone being injured via gunshot wound— I know gunpowder was discovered fairly early on, but I tend to (for reasons unknown to me, really) think of guns as an 18th century development.

So I've been watching some How to Make Everything, and a question developed. He melts his bronze/copper and casts it into tools, but in my experience at least with iron, forging is more effective than casting (and has a lower heat requirement)

So, in the bronze age and earlier, were metal tools cast or forged?

Wikipedia states "References to the crossbow are basically nonexistent in Europe from the 5th century until the 10th century."

Does the absence from textual sources indicate people forgot how to make crossbows during this time, at least in Europe? And what accounts for their sudden reappearance in 947 at the siege of Senlis?

Which biography of Mao is most accurate? I just started Jung Chang's and Jon Halliday's, which I'm aware has received some criticism for being too biased. I'm enjoying it and would like to finish it, but I want to read something more reliable first. Thanks!

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Edit: Please recommend some other books about modern Chinese history if you can.

Who's face is this on a door knocker? http://imgur.com/gallery/rAVRiWF

Historically speaking, is there any correlation between prevalence of belief in the afterlife and what's going on within a civilization at a particular time? I'm wondering if public belief in the afterlife, for instance, deteriorates when things get pretty hopelessly chaotic but thrives during times where everything is good. Or vice-versa.

Back in the day when greeks believed in the gods of mount olympus, there was an actual mount olympus is my understanding. My question, did anyone during that time ever try to cimb it to talk to the gods?

https://imgur.com/gallery/rivSoHV

Looking through a 'Slave Schedule' from 1860, a census of slaves in North Carolina, and I see that many of the names listed are denoted with "Emp." (At least thats what it looks like to me, I'm not good with cursive). I also noticed that each of these names is accompanied by another line with a different name denoted "owner". Does this mean that the person was merely 'employing' or renting a slave, rather than being their legal owner?

When does a conquered land stop being a colony and just become a part of that country?

In the 1973 documentary, Dry Wood,

A glimpse into the life, food, and Mardi Gras celebrations of black Creoles in French Louisiana, featuring the stories and music of "Bois Sec" Ardoin and Canray Fontenot. Dry Wood is one of a number of Les Blank's critically acclaimed films on Lousiana life and culture.

Around 16 minutes into it, there's a family playing a ball game with a batter, a pitcher, and a bunch of outfielders. The batter hits the ball, and runs toward what would be second base in baseball. It seems if the ball is caught before it hits the ground, you are "out".

It's not baseball, and it's not like any cricket game I have been to. What is the game, and where did it originate?

How long have humans been personifying animals? Did ancient Egyptians “talk for” their cats, for example? Are there cave paintings where the horses have speech bubbles?

Are there any translated records of ancient financial scripts? It would be interesting to see how data was organized and indexed back then.

Any advice on preservation of historical photos?

My grandfather was a Marine photographer in Korea and Vietnam. He left me a old crumbling photo album filled with photos and negatives from Korea and Vietnam. How should I go about preserving it?

A few years ago a few friends gave me three soviet service medals as a gift. Are there any online resources out there I can use to see if the medals are real? And if they are indeed real, any resources to learn more about the man they were issued to? Each medal has a little booklet containing the name of the recipient (all belonged to the same man), a description of the medal in question, and a date of issue. Two even have a serial number. I speak some russian so resources do not necessarily need to be in english.

I know medals are of little historical value to a museum or archivist, especially WW2 and WW2 anniversary medals that I have, but it is strange to me to own the medals of a man who I am not related to and never knew. Trying to find his relatives seems like it might not be feasible but if it turns out to be doable, I am open to shipping them back 'home'. What are my options if I don't want these to just gather dust in my apartment?

Did Stalin really try to breed an army of soviet simian super soldiers? I just saw a documentary about it on history channel and it seems really far fetched, like they told something out of context and puffed it up

Books on Cuban politics/history post WW2? Castro, Guevara, etc. Preferably something non biased, lots of the books I found were pro guevara, I want to see what accurately took place. Thanks in advanced.

I'm looking for good reading material relating to the end of WW2 in Europe and its immediate aftermath to support a Reddit group read of Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. Specific topics that come to mind:

• development of the V2 rocket
• Allied efforts to capture material and personnel related to the V2
• life in the last part of the war and the months following

thanks!

I watched Guys and Dolls yesterday, and someone commented that they would get married without a blood test. Why did people expect blood tests before marriage?

Are there any resources that compile people's reaction to technology? Im thinking 19th-20th century artivles reacting to all the newfangled technology of the day

Was everyone as evil as Colombus during colonial times?

Like, he mocked natives for their ignorance before slaughtering them and taking young girls as sex slaves.

I know that slavery was a thing back then, but was most of the population just complicit or were they all evil as slavers?

TLDR - Is there a measurement of "humanitarianism" of societies around the 1600's?

What theories about the nature of lightning were prevalent in the century or so before it was confirmed that it was an electrical phenomenon?

What was Soviet literature like? Did most writers care or complain about the censorship, or were they fine with it?

Did Mary Washington (mother of George) own slaves?

I can't find any information on this, beyond the fact that her husband, son, and daughter-in-law Martha (and her family) owned slaves.

She lived about 46 years after the death of her husband so I'm curious if she acquired his slaves, if she freed them, etc.

Thanks!

Why was French an international language when the English Empire had control of so much of the world and therefore spread English? Was France just also that good at colonization?

I remember a few years ago I saw a documentary that claimed certain targets (factories etc) weren't bombed during ww2 on purpose because of the, for want of better word, illuminati's interests and shares in the businesses. The documentary cited a book written by an ex soldier, mi5 or sas where he describes this and other corrupt things that happened in the war. I'm trying to track down what book it is because I'd love to read it, any help would be great!

If I could read only two books on racism in America, what would you recommend?

I apologize if this is wrong to ask. I know there is a book list, but there are many options, and I feel its important to become more knowledgeable right now.

Could the Japanese defeated the British empire in a battle of let's say, Hong Kong in the early 1900s as they did with the Russian empire?

Hello, I’m looking for some advice on books I should pick up in order to understand the history of slavery in the world. I recently came across a post that stated whites were sold in North Africa up until the Ottoman Empire was no more. This really sparked my curiosity and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations?

I'm looking to read a book or two on the history of Israel from just before its founding in the 40s to the 80s. I'm mostly interested in reading about the two main wars (in 48 and 67). Are there any accepted unbiased books on this topic?

When the US tested the first atomic bomb what were they expecting? Did they know how powerful it would be? Were they able to accurately predict the outcome (how much force was generated, the mushroom cloud, etc.)

I’ve seen some people call manstein the greatest general of ww2, and others point him out as a key example of the dunning Krueger effect who was the greatest general of self promotion.

Which side is more accurate? I’m more inclined to believe the second viewpoint after reading how easily the soviets bamboozled him but I’m curious what the consensus is

Did Western Europe have the best metallurgic technology around the world in XVI century?

The guillotine has a nickname. Robbespiere guillotines king. Someone else guillotines robbespiere. This person also will be victim of the guillotine.

It is like a cycle. The ones who use it now will die from it next.

What was the nickname?