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https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13yc3qh/friday_freeforall_june_02_2023/ | 13yc3qh | 19 | t3_13yc3qh | Friday Free-for-All | June 02, 2023 | [Previously](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/search?q=title%3A%22Friday+Free-for-All%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)
Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads a... | 12 | 0.75 | null | false | 1,685,710,815 | [
{
"body": "Hey there, I had a long conversation with professor Andrew Reeves, the creator and host of [The Reeve’s Tale](https://shows.acast.com/the-reeves-tale-a-medieval-miscellany-with-andrew-reeves), a podcast all about the many ways “Middle Ages are ***awesome***.” \n\nOur chat has been titled \"[*The Mid... | 3 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13wq6u6/short_answers_to_simple_questions_may_31_2023/ | 13wq6u6 | 48 | t3_13wq6u6 | Short Answers to Simple Questions | May 31, 2023 | [Previous weeks!](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/search?sort=new&restrict_sr=on&q=flair%3ASASQ)
**Please Be Aware**: We expect everyone to read the rules and guidelines of this thread. Mods *will* remove questions which we deem to be too involved for the theme in place here. We *will* remove answers which don'... | 11 | 0.93 | null | false | 1,685,548,858 | [
{
"body": "What is the first recorded mention of the idea of progress? (That is, the idea that human society is growing better rather than degenerating or continuing in a perpetual cycle)\n\nI've posted this 4 times now. Usually repeating yourself is encouraged here, so I *think* that's okay, but is there a bet... | 3 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13y7ee7/why_is_gps_free/ | 13y7ee7 | 199 | t3_13y7ee7 | Why is GPS free? | As far as I can remember, I never needed a paid data bundle to use GPS on my phone and old car navigation devices didn't require a subscription to get a good GPS signal. This seems odd to me since a lot of money had to be spent on sattelites when GPS was created. Why did the creators of GPS decide not to charge any mon... | 1,342 | 0.94 | null | false | 1,685,696,390 | [
{
"body": "Oh man! A question I can answer!\n\nI'm a GPS engineer. I'll answer this in a sort of roundabout way by explaining the history of GPS and how it works - then get into why it's used for civil application and why you don't have to pay for it.\n\nGPS was originally a US AirForce program called Navstar. ... | 2 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13ycon3/in_antiquity_only_representatives_from_greek/ | 13ycon3 | 10 | t3_13ycon3 | In antiquity, only representatives from “Greek” cities were invited to participate in the Olympic Games. What defined a city as “Greek”? There were Greek colonies in France and all through Anatolia; the people of these cities spoke Greek and participated in “Greek” culture, right? | What were the boarders for lands that were thought of as “Greek” and why were they drawn there? | 227 | 0.98 | null | false | 1,685,712,176 | [
{
"body": "This is a fairly contested question in both ancient times and today. To give just one example of this, Macedon was famously a bit of an edge case, and there is a somewhat well known passage of Herodotus describing its contested identity in relation to the Olympic games (V.22, [translation from here](... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13yaeo5/what_did_chinese_food_in_the_byzantine_empire/ | 13yaeo5 | 7 | t3_13yaeo5 | What did Chinese food in the Byzantine empire look like? | I've seen mentions of Chinese food being popular in Constantinople in two popular history works: Larry Gonick's world history comics and Bettany Hughes' "Istanbul: a tale of three cities". Both only mention it without going into detail, though, and don't provide a source for this claim specifically.
My questions a... | 235 | 0.95 | null | false | 1,685,706,448 | [
{
"body": "Could you possibly post the specific locations of these references? I've done a quick search but also have found pretty meagre investigations of Chinese food in the empire.\n\nOf the relevant scholarship, I can recommend Dalby's *Tastes of Byzantium* as well as Brubaker and Linardou's volume *Eat, Dr... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13yn8m9/how_did_the_agenda_item_of_champagne_the_drink/ | 13yn8m9 | 3 | t3_13yn8m9 | How did the agenda item of Champagne (the drink) form part of the Treaty of Versailles? | An anecdote I hear repeated often is that the Treaty of Versailles preserved or protected in some way the rights of only specific regions in France to use the term Champagne for the drink that bears this name. These legal rights continue to this day and are acknowledged by other jurisdictions now too, I believe. A foll... | 19 | 0.96 | null | false | 1,685,735,980 | [
{
"body": "Champagne is an *\"appellation d'origine contrôlée\"*, a protected area legally defined for the purposes of producing a product associated with that region. Other appellations you might be familiar with include Congac (as in the brandy), Roquefort (as in the cheese), and Tequila (as in the mezcal).\n... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xrtao/alexander_the_great_famously_founded_several/ | 13xrtao | 30 | t3_13xrtao | Alexander the Great famously founded several cities bearing his name during his conquests. What does founding a city actually look like in this context? What structures were built? How was the city populated? | 1,520 | 0.98 | null | false | 1,685,649,893 | [
{
"body": "Hello! I'm going to attempt to answer this question. It is quite difficult to do so, however, because while sources do talk about the technical side of founding new cities around this time, they often do not really explain why or how they were actually built.\n\nAlexander probably founded many of his... | 3 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13ygez0/how_centralized_was_actually_the_late_roman_empire/ | 13ygez0 | 2 | t3_13ygez0 | How centralized was actually the late Roman Empire? | Greetings fellow enjoyer of history!
I have never posted in this community but there's a question that has been boiling inside my head for a while now.
So, I've been fascinated with the period of the "Dark Age" era and the whole germanic migrations for a while now. And even though nowadays, more and more people l... | 23 | 0.81 | null | false | 1,685,721,082 | [
{
"body": "First, I might suggest dismissing the term \"\"Dark Age\" from your mind. A few interesting books on the post-Roman, pre-European periods are:\n\nHerrin, \"The Formation of Christendom\" (1987)\n\nHeather, \"Barbarians and Empires\" (2010)\n\nHeather, \"The Fall of the Roman Empire\" (2006)\n\nWickh... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13y3kg1/are_there_any_good_documentaries_or_shows_on_the/ | 13y3kg1 | 18 | t3_13y3kg1 | Are there any good documentaries or shows on the Aztecs that aren’t like ancient aliens? | Don’t get me wrong, I like ancient aliens but I want something more historically based. Almost everything I could find to watch is on how maybe the aliens built the pyramids or conspiracy theories. I just want straight up Aztec history backed up by actual sources and not “This symbol kinda looks like a helicopter!” Doe... | 137 | 0.95 | null | false | 1,685,682,253 | [
{
"body": "Consider reading a book! *Aztecs: An Interpretation* by Inga Clendinnen is a very readable general-audience portrait of Aztec society by a highly regarded historian of Mesoamerica; it's also an extremely vivid account of the Aztec world that makes even its most extreme features (like human sacrifice)... | 2 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xxyvb/if_the_genus_capsicum_is_native_to_the_americas/ | 13xxyvb | 17 | t3_13xxyvb | If the genus capsicum is native to the Americas, was Indian food spicy before 1492 -- and if so, what spicy ingredients did they use? | 319 | 0.97 | null | false | 1,685,665,167 | [
{
"body": "Pungent aka \"spicy\" spices used in India since antiquity:\n\n*Piper nigrum,* aka black pepper was extensively used in Europe and India. Ayurvedic cooking (which dates well before the Columbian exchange) lists black pepper as an ingredient. Green peppercorns (same species, just underripe) was used ... | 2 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13yqm5l/are_there_any_theories_to_why_subsaharan_africa/ | 13yqm5l | 4 | t3_13yqm5l | Are there any theories to why sub-Saharan Africa lacks philosophy compared to Europe and Asia? | I learned from an answer on this Subreddit tha there is a gap, are there any theories to why this happened? | 6 | 0.59 | null | false | 1,685,742,712 | [
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"body": "What exactly do you mean *lacks philosophy*? I'm going to assume you mean pre-colonial or pre-European expansion, but any timeframe is missing in the question.\n\nAre we aware of philosophical activities in sub-Saharan Africa as we are in Europe and Asia? No. That doesn't mean they lacked philosophy,... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13yodk8/by_the_time_the_battle_of_kursk_concluded_was_the/ | 13yodk8 | 6 | t3_13yodk8 | By the time the Battle of Kursk concluded, was the Red Army powerful enough that they could have defeated Nazi Germany by themselves? | One thing that always fascinated me about world war 2 was that unlike the other fronts, the only countries that fought in the Eastern front were Germany and Russia.
I was wondering if the Russian army was powerful enough to defeat a Nazi Germany that didn’t have to divert their resources to other fronts such as the We... | 6 | 0.72 | null | false | 1,685,738,331 | [
{
"body": "I will leave the answer to people with more expertise than I have, but I wonder if it would be useful to specify in this hypothetical whether the USSR was receiving Allied aid shipments, or if by \"themselves\" we mean completely by themselves, including material and supplies.\n\nAbout 2/3rds of US s... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13yexmb/best_of_may_voting_thread/ | 13yexmb | 13 | t3_13yexmb | Best of May Voting Thread | 17 | 0.83 | null | false | 1,685,717,634 | [
{
"body": "[\"Marcus Aurelius' writings implied the possibility that gods might be unjust or non-existent. Did this cause much controversy in Roman society? How did Roman religious authorities respond to his writings?\"](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13nry5w/marcus_aurelius_writings_implied_th... | 3 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13ypq5i/what_happened_to_the_french_nobility_from_1789/ | 13ypq5i | 3 | t3_13ypq5i | What happened to the French nobility from 1789 onwards? | Just wondering what exactly happened to the French aristocracy during the end of the 18th century and the 19th century. In the First French Empire, Wikipedia says that Napoleon created a new imperial nobility of his choosing, but what happened to the nobles of the Ancien Regime who had avoided being killed in the revol... | 5 | 1 | null | false | 1,685,740,952 | [
{
"body": "More can always be said (it's a big topic), but you may be interested in [my previous answer](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/zcl1vs/in_what_sense_and_to_what_extent_were_french/) about the status of French aristocracy in the century after the Revolution.",
"created_utc": 16857457... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13yilxt/how_did_soldiers_in_the_napoleonic_wars_protect/ | 13yilxt | 2 | t3_13yilxt | How did soldiers in the Napoleonic Wars protect themselves from artillery fire? | I'm currently reading War and Peace, specifically the section on the battle of Borodino, and was amazed that Prince Andrey's regiment stood in reserve under artillery fire and just waited. From the text it seemed that they were just waiting for orders, standing there while scores of them died. I understand War and Peac... | 8 | 0.8 | null | false | 1,685,726,092 | [
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"body": "I can't speak to Borodino specifically, but there's 2 points I had in mind that might help out.\n\n1. Preparation time: if the meeting of the armies was relatively unexpected there may not have been time to entrench. Also, if they reserve units were planning on being deployed where the front line was... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xfu1h/could_romulus_and_remus_simply_be_stand_ins_for/ | 13xfu1h | 73 | t3_13xfu1h | Could Romulus and Remus simply be stand ins for two early settlements that had been growing on the banks of the Tiber in the 8th century BCE? Or do Historians think that they might have actually been real figures? | 1,466 | 0.96 | null | false | 1,685,621,212 | [
{
"body": "Most historians consider Romulus and Remus to be completely fictional. While Andrea Carandini argues for the authenticity of Rome's foundation myth, most historians reject his hypothesis.\n\nAncient people's often attributed city foundations to \"nomative founders\", an individual who would intention... | 3 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13y4wno/its_the_year_1000_and_i_am_the_son_of_the_emperor/ | 13y4wno | 3 | t3_13y4wno | It's the year 1000 and I am the son of the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, and I have a great fascination with the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. How does my knowledge compare to modern-day historians? Do I know more? Or less? What misconceptions might I have? | 49 | 0.87 | null | false | 1,685,686,955 | [
{
"body": "You would have a pretty good understanding of the republic, kingdom, and early empire. Given that so many classical texts come to us via Byzantine preservation, you, as a prince (or co-emperor, we have to imagine since all the emperors of the early 1000's were childless, save for one who had 3 daught... | 1 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13y8ox4/what_would_julius_caesar_leaving_75_denarii_to/ | 13y8ox4 | 2 | t3_13y8ox4 | What would Julius Caesar leaving 75 denarii to the population of rome meant for the economy of rome? | While reading another question on this site, a question suddenly popped up in my mind: If a huge number of people in vienna would suddenly gain 2 and a half worth of money, would this have had an impact on the economy? Would this have caused some sort of inflation with a sudden rise in food costs, or living costs? I im... | 16 | 0.88 | null | false | 1,685,700,924 | [
{
"body": "Here's a great [answer](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/mayt8o/comment/grvs4g2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) from [u/toldinstone](https://www.reddit.com/user/toldinstone/).",
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"permalink"... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13yjaut/why_were_communist_states_dictatorships/ | 13yjaut | 2 | t3_13yjaut | Why were communist states dictatorships? | 4 | 0.61 | null | false | 1,685,727,697 | [
{
"body": "This is not to discourage further answers, but this [answer](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/m6u93x/how_did_soviet_democracy_work/gr89x0g/) I wrote to a question about Soviet democracy. It talks a bit about the structure and mechanics of elections and party rule, but also how, in Marx... | 1 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13y8j4g/when_and_why_did_military_recruitment_switch_from/ | 13y8j4g | 4 | t3_13y8j4g | When and why did military recruitment switch from joining a particular company or regiment to joining "the Army" as a whole? | I get the sense that the changeover broadly took place between the late 19th century and the Second World War, but I'm curious about the specific processes and factors involved, especially as it differed between countries. | 11 | 0.67 | null | false | 1,685,700,351 | [
{
"body": "I asked a similar question about 5 years ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/7njvzi/reorganization_of_us_army/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button\n\nMy apologies for not being good at formatting the link.\n\nETA: I forgot t... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13ystf1/how_did_people_wake_up_at_specific_times_before/ | 13ystf1 | 8 | t3_13ystf1 | How did people wake up at specific times before alarm clocks were a thing? | I know waking up at a specific time wasn’t all that important before the industrial revolution, but i still wonder. | 2 | 0.6 | null | false | 1,685,747,249 | [
{
"body": "This is more recent in historical times, but the Church held a practice called The Liturgy of the Hours where holy people held prayers and burned candles to mark the passage of time. Often, there were just people who stayed up late as part of their job, and woke other people up when it was time.\n\nT... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13y1kuf/did_the_hanging_gardens_of_babylon_actually_exist/ | 13y1kuf | 4 | t3_13y1kuf | Did the hanging gardens of Babylon actually exist? | 22 | 0.83 | null | false | 1,685,675,659 | [
{
"body": "This older answer by u/mythoplokos goes into further detail, but the general consensus is yes, in some form, they did: [Did the Hanging Gardens of Babylon actually exist, and has definitive proof been found? Why is it the only wonder whose location has not been definitely found?](https://www.reddit.c... | 1 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xx4ds/when_did_people_living_in_modern_day_germany/ | 13xx4ds | 4 | t3_13xx4ds | When did people living in modern day Germany consider themselves “German?” | I was watching Queen Charlotte, the Bridgerton story, and Charlotte and her brother described themselves as “German.” The show takes place during 1761, and I know that Germany didn’t unify until about 1871. The story is *inspired* by fact but would people living in Mirow consider themselves “German” in the 1700’s? | 29 | 0.82 | null | false | 1,685,662,905 | [
{
"body": "\"Germans\" identify as \"German\" since a very long time, but the meaning of the word has changed a lot.\n\nThe first known self-identification as \"German\" is dated back to the 13th century, by German scholars like Alexander von Roes and Lupold von Bebenburg. Before that, *Deutsch* (or *teutsch*) ... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13yhkmz/russians_sent_two_brigades_to_fight_on_the/ | 13yhkmz | 2 | t3_13yhkmz | Russians sent two brigades to fight on the western front in ww1, but why didn't the allies send any troops to fight in Russia, especially toward the end of the war when they could have used the men? | 1 | 0.67 | null | false | 1,685,723,761 | [
{
"body": "They did, actually! I believe there are a few examples, but the main one I'm aware of was the Royal Naval Armoured Car Division, which arrived early in 1916. Counting about 550 men and 45 armored cars, plus support, they would fight under Russian command for the next two years, only withdrawn in late... | 1 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13yfc7a/why_did_the_usa_and_canada_become_economically/ | 13yfc7a | 3 | t3_13yfc7a | Why did the USA and Canada become economically powerful modern nations but Mexico didn't? | As far as I know, these three nations had roughly similar origins. They started as European colonies, wiped out the native people, used the stolen natural resources to build up, then declared independence.
So why are the US and Canada so different than Mexico? I realize many of the stereotypes about Mexico aren't true... | 0 | 0.4 | null | false | 1,685,718,587 | [
{
"body": "Long story short, industrialization.\n\nThere were several factors that contributed to the divergent economic trajectories between the three countries, but industrialization is, probably, the most relevant.\n\nThere was, of course, colonialism. The United States and Canada experienced a more diversif... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13y11z3/what_rights_did_the_us_constitution_give_women/ | 13y11z3 | 8 | t3_13y11z3 | What rights did the US Constitution give women originally? If they couldn't vote, were they also not protected by the Bill of Rights? | I know that a small percentage of the US male population was actually allowed vote originally, but even after White Male Suffrage and the 15th Amendment, women still could not vote. If the government didn't consider women as part of the people referenced in the Constitution, could they also be denied the right to free ... | 6 | 0.64 | null | false | 1,685,674,064 | [
{
"body": "Voting rights are basically irrelevant here, as the Bill of Rights isn't granting rights to a group of people, where the people who \"qualify\" to be in that group can be debated. It is limiting the right of the federal government.\n\nSo the first amendment, for example, isn't specifying WHO has free... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xt6ur/does_anyone_know_where_i_can_find_a_copy_of/ | 13xt6ur | 2 | t3_13xt6ur | Does anyone know where I can find a copy of Nelson Mandela's paper titled "How to be a Good Communist"? It was apparently submitted as evidence against him during his 1963-64 Rivonia Trial. | I've been trying to do research about the reasons why Nelson Mandela was sent to jail and I keep hearing about a document he wrote that was unrefuted and supported the claims that he was a Communist. I'm rather interested in hearing what Mandela had to say about communism as a young man. Especially with his close ties ... | 21 | 0.84 | null | false | 1,685,653,169 | [
{
"body": "According to [this](https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/eu-st01.ext.exlibrisgroup.com/27UOJ_INST/storage/alma/E9/BB/89/BF/C4/6D/F7/21/B1/B8/C6/48/A6/FB/F7/FF/uj_40626%2BSOURCE1%2BSOURCE1.1.pdf?response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20230602T154312Z&X-Amz... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13ybhql/why_are_the_bulkan_states_a_hotbed_for_ethnic/ | 13ybhql | 7 | t3_13ybhql | Why are the Bulkan states a hotbed for ethnic violence in Europe? | I just watched a TLDR News EU video about the current tensions between Kosovo and Serbia and I'm a bit confused. Why are so many ethnic groups scattered across the Bulkans and why do they hate each other so much? Ethnic Serbs getting violent with NATO troops over license plates, election of ethnic Albanian mayors, and ... | 0 | 0.46 | null | true | 1,685,709,274 | [
{
"body": "I can give a partial answer since I live in Croatia, at the edge of the Balkans, and I also know something about its history.\n\nBalkans was historically an area or weak states and peripheral areas of different empires/states with centers in other regions. Historically it was all ruled from Rome vari... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13y6kms/how_fast_were_na_native_americans_to_adopt/ | 13y6kms | 2 | t3_13y6kms | How fast were (NA) Native Americans to adopt firearms? How did they procure them as well as ammunition during prolonged conflicts with the settlers? | 1 | 0.67 | null | false | 1,685,693,282 | [
{
"body": " The Native Nations relied on subsistence for many months of the year, and also came into regular conflict with each other. Once they realized the advantages they formed alliances with the armed colonists ( no, it was not just Pocahontas that made Powhatan strike up a brief friendship with John Smith... | 1 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13x84fi/what_was_so_special_about_the_principality_of/ | 13x84fi | 4 | t3_13x84fi | What was so special about the Principality of Andorra that it remained independent from both Spain and France? Was it some unique circumstancenor something more complex? Furthermore, what caused it to be ruled in such a unique way (by a President and a Prince-Bishop)? | It seems strange that such a small county would somehow resist integration into a larger body of goverance and end up being co-ruled. | 115 | 0.95 | null | false | 1,685,593,835 | [
{
"body": "There's an [answer](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/9tujjb/why_was_andorra_never_permanently_incorporated/) by u/catopinions that addresses your questions.",
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https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13wlqd4/ancient_athens_seems_to_have_lacked_the_apartment/ | 13wlqd4 | 5 | t3_13wlqd4 | Ancient Athens seems to have lacked the apartment buildings of ancient Rome. So did most people live in small single-family homes? Should we imagine these as row houses? What would the living situation be like for the working poor and middle class? Were there slums? | 1,920 | 0.98 | null | false | 1,685,538,204 | [
{
"body": "This was a very interesting question to research.\n\nDomestic archaeology in Athens is way behind that of the major sites, such as the acropolis and the agora, for several reasons. For one, the bigger sites were deemed 'more important' than domestic architecture, more central to our understanding of ... | 1 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xv09a/why_wasnt_trench_warfare_widely_used_before_ww1/ | 13xv09a | 2 | t3_13xv09a | Why wasn't trench warfare widely used before WW1? | Wouldn't it be a good strategy in the Napoleonic Wars for example, to put riflemen and light infantry in trenches to defend against line infantry? | 5 | 0.69 | null | false | 1,685,657,541 | [
{
"body": "Historically, military doctrines emphasized offensive strategies aimed at quickly seizing territory and engaging the enemy in open battle. Armies relied on mobility and maneuverability to gain advantages on the battlefield. This offensive mindset was based on the belief that decisive victories could ... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xe3p0/in_the_abolition_of_work_bob_black_states_factory/ | 13xe3p0 | 4 | t3_13xe3p0 | In “The Abolition of Work”, Bob Black states “factory wage workers in Northern American states and in Europe were worse off than Southern plantation slaves.”. Could the conditions of industrial workers in Europe & the North c. 1860 in any way be said to be worse than American chattel slavery c.1860? | Additionally, Black states that this view, that northern & European industrial workers were worse off than Southern Chattel slaves, has been “argued convincingly” not only by “southern slave apologists”, but also by a historian named Eugene Genovese. I am not familiar with Genovese’s credentials, work, or reputation wi... | 33 | 0.85 | null | false | 1,685,615,814 | [
{
"body": "This previous answer seems relevant:\n\nhttps://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/12k3i4g/were_slaves_indoctrinated/",
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"permalink": "/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xe3p0/in_the_abolition_of_work_bob_black_states_fac... | 2 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xbkc6/in_spike_lees_do_the_right_thing_a_charachter/ | 13xbkc6 | 3 | t3_13xbkc6 | In Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, a charachter asks why nobody from their neighbourhood opened a grocery shop before Korean immigrants did so. How much harder would it be for an African American to start a small business in late 1980 Brooklyn compared to a Korean? | 47 | 0.85 | null | false | 1,685,606,481 | [
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"body": "Spike Lee is portraying a very real tension that existed in black neighborhoods across the country at the time. In the late 1980s and 90s there were several boycotts by blacks of Korean grocery stores in New York, and in 1992 Korean stores would be disproportionately targeted in Los Angeles following... | 1 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xgyvf/thursday_reading_recommendations_june_01_2023/ | 13xgyvf | 10 | t3_13xgyvf | Thursday Reading & Recommendations | June 01, 2023 | [Previous weeks!](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/search?q=Thursday+Reading+%26+Research&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)
Thursday Reading and Recommendations is intended as bookish free-for-all, for the discussion and recommendation of all books historical, or tangentially so. Suggested topics include, but are b... | 16 | 0.8 | null | false | 1,685,624,419 | [
{
"body": "Anyone got good book recs on the history of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa?",
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},... | 3 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xtn2j/does_anyone_have_any_good_resources_for_detailed/ | 13xtn2j | 4 | t3_13xtn2j | Does anyone have any good resources for detailed defensive dispositions of Midway Atoll during the Battle of Midway? | Doing some volunteer research, and I’m having a hard time finding detailed information about the islands themselves during the course of the battle. Specifically, the building/hanger layouts, locations of dugouts/anti-air defenses, actual locations of PT boats deployed in the lagoon, berms, barbed wire emplacements, et... | 2 | 0.63 | null | false | 1,685,654,226 | [
{
"body": "I sniffed around a bit in what I've got handy and there's not much. Symonds spends all of two paragraphs on construction, Toll not at all. Parshall and Tully talk about the damage a little bit more, and at least I can point you towards the reference they footnote for that (which I've not read): Rob... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13wwbd6/why_were_the_great_cathedrals_of_europe_built/ | 13wwbd6 | 12 | t3_13wwbd6 | Why were the great cathedrals of Europe built with such extreme opulence and so massive (especially in the height department)? Was it solely to show glory to God or was it more political? Do we know what ordinary people thought about so much money being spent on their construction? | 209 | 0.95 | null | false | 1,685,563,160 | [
{
"body": "Starting in the 11th century, churches were re-built in romanesque and later gothic fashion, even if they had been constructed less than a decade ago. We can see this with the cathedral of Speyer, for example, which was built instead of a smaller parish church by Conrad II around 1025, only to be re-... | 2 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13x53oy/under_frederick_the_great_jews_were_required_to/ | 13x53oy | 4 | t3_13x53oy | Under Frederick the Great, Jews were required to by significant amounts of porcelain upon marriages, births, and house purchases. What did they feel about these mountains of fine goods? How did impoverished Jews afford it, did they immediately sell it off? | buy*
The whole thing seems very odd and random. Of course it is anti-Semitic and messed up, but that doesn't take away the impression of it also being slightly... ridiculous. | 61 | 0.94 | null | false | 1,685,584,559 | [
{
"body": "Jews not just in Prussia were considered foreigners. As such, they had no right to settle down and open a business that would compete against local merchants. They could however win the privilege of being protected by the respective feudal prince; in Prussia, that was the king himself. These Protecte... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xg5o4/medieval_weapons_chains_vs_solid_shafts_why/ | 13xg5o4 | 6 | t3_13xg5o4 | Medieval weapons: chains vs solid shafts. Why choose one over the other? | What is the difference in use and effect between weapons that have chains and weapons that have a solid stave or shaft?
For instance, why would someone choose a flail over a mace, or vice versa?
Thanks
([video of a guy splitting wood with a goofy chain axe. skip to minute 6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs1j_fDGg... | 5 | 0.78 | null | false | 1,685,622,133 | [
{
"body": "While more could certainly be said, (by someone who isn't me since the Roman legions didn't use any chained weapons, so I know absolutely nothing about them) [this older reply](https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/9i66ht/did_the_chain_morning_starflail_weapon_actually/) by u/wotan_weevil d... | 2 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13wvq36/chinas_barefoot_doctor_program_was_a_tremendous/ | 13wvq36 | 3 | t3_13wvq36 | China's Barefoot Doctor program was a tremendous success at providing healthcare to rural populations and led directly to the modern system of Primary Health Care adopted around the world. Why did the government end the program in 1981? | 85 | 0.9 | null | false | 1,685,561,760 | [
{
"body": "There are a couple things to unpack in your question.\n\nWhile the barefoot doctors provided a level of healthcare, the system did have significant drawbacks. I don’t think “tremendous success” captures the nuanced reality of the program. A number of ideological precepts baked into the program likely... | 1 | |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13x79tz/when_europeans_first_explored_ethiopia_did_they/ | 13x79tz | 3 | t3_13x79tz | When Europeans first explored Ethiopia did they know that there were already Christians there? | If they didn't know, what was their reaction? I imagine they were pretty shocked. | 12 | 0.78 | null | false | 1,685,591,066 | [
{
"body": "The existence of Ethiopia as a Christian kingdom beyond the Islamic world was known to Medieval Europeans, even if their direct knowledge of it was somewhat spotty. However, it had been known in pre-Islamic times, where they were some direct contacts, which u/Commustar goes into in this answer:\n\nht... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13x8j4v/did_the_goths_really_slaughter_and_enslave_100000/ | 13x8j4v | 6 | t3_13x8j4v | Did the Goths Really Slaughter and Enslave 100,000 Romans after the Siege of Philippopolis in 250 AD? If so, why is there so little focus on this event in historical-focused media? | I recently learned about the Siege of Philippopolis led by King Cniva during the Gothic invasion of Thrace. Not only did he supposedly kill or capture 100,000 Romans, he slayed a Roman emperor in combat. This must’ve been absolutely shocking to the Roman citizenry, yet I hardly hear anything about it. Equally remarkabl... | 9 | 0.85 | null | false | 1,685,595,202 | [
{
"body": "I would suspect that the 100,000 number isn't remotely real (what's the source for that, by the way?). However I can point you to some context for the time period. This is during the crisis of the third century where practically every man who could scrape together an army was calling themselves emper... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xawy6/is_this_passage_in_the_havamal_influenced_by/ | 13xawy6 | 2 | t3_13xawy6 | Is this passage in the Havamal influenced by Christianity? | I trow I hung on that windy Tree
nine whole days and nights,
stabbed with a spear, offered to Odin,
myself to mine own self given,
high on that Tree of which none hath heard
from what roots it rises to heaven.
https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/havamal.html#runes | 5 | 0.86 | null | false | 1,685,603,919 | [
{
"body": "tl; dr: perhaps. \n\nIt has a fairly long history of discussion among the scholars (AFAIK latest since the disputation by Sophus Bugge, Norwegian philologist in the 19th century) on the Rúnatal section of Hávamál Sts, 138-41, and while the majority of current generations of scholars seem to agree th... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xkmlb/can_anyone_help_id_my_grandpas_mystery_wwii_patch/ | 13xkmlb | 2 | t3_13xkmlb | Can anyone help ID my Grandpa's mystery WWII patch? | Does anyone recognize this? Image and Google searches failed me. I hope you can help me figure out where this came from exactly. All I know is my grandfather brought it back with him after WW2. He was in the US Army Air Corps. Looks like black cloth gold threading.
[https://imgur.com/gallery/o5jUnGD] | 0 | 0.5 | null | false | 1,685,633,520 | [
{
"body": "Welcome to /r/AskHistorians. **Please [Read Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/rules) before you comment in this community**. Understand that [rule breaking comments get removed](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/h8aefx/rules_roundtable_xviii_removed_curation_and_why... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13xjgt1/why_was_the_katyn_masscare_swept_under_the_rug/ | 13xjgt1 | 3 | t3_13xjgt1 | Why was the Katyn masscare swept under the rug? | Recently, I read about the Katyn Massacre in which 20k innocent, Polish intelligence members were executed . However, I couldn't find any names of the massacrers or any trials held for it, except for the fact that NVKD did it. Why wasn't there a proper investigation on perpetrators like we did for SS's war crimes? Why... | 0 | 0.47 | null | false | 1,685,630,782 | [
{
"body": "As a note we do know some of the executioners who carried out the Katyn Massacre. Notably was Vasily Blokhin, who was the chief executioner for the NKVD and carried out many of the executions of notable individuals during the Great Purge. According to Montefiore, Blokhin personally executed around 7,... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13wp156/were_epic_poems_recited_in_one_go_or_was_it_like/ | 13wp156 | 4 | t3_13wp156 | Were Epic Poems recited in one go, or was it like a serial performance? | Reading about some Greek dudes messing around with some walls and stealing people’s horses and wondering if Homer et al would’ve recited this type of thing in one go or if he would’ve given it in installments. It seems very long but I also know plays in Ancient Greece could have gone on for hours, but wasn’t clear if t... | 70 | 0.95 | null | false | 1,685,546,212 | [
{
"body": "The Homeric epics are too long to stage a sensible performance in one go, so there's a pretty strong presumption that while that may have happened on special occasions, it wasn't the norm.\n\nOne popular reckoning has it that a complete reading of the *Iliad* takes 25 hours, which sounds slow to me: ... | 1 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13wfcq0/should_i_use_pbuh_in_scholarly_works/ | 13wfcq0 | 30 | t3_13wfcq0 | Should I Use "(PBUH)" in Scholarly Works? | Hey guys,
I'm currently writing a paper on the Yezidi title of Mîr (Prince), and the history of the the phrase demands I talk about the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
As this is intended to be published and (hopefully) read, in a predominantly Muslim region, should I as non-Muslim scholar use the "(PBUH)" following the nam... | 279 | 0.91 | null | false | 1,685,518,112 | [
{
"body": "As someone who works primarily in modern Islamic history I would say that there does not necessarily exist any unified convention. Id say the vast majority of scholars I read do not use any honorifics for Muhammad. Though you are of course significantly more likely to see a Muslim use it than a non-M... | 2 |
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/13w5rqa/was_goliath_actually_the_underdog_in_the_biblical/ | 13w5rqa | 101 | t3_13w5rqa | Was Goliath actually the underdog in the biblical story? | So in his book, David and Goliath, Gladwell argues that contrary to popular perception, Goliath is the underdog in that encounter, rather than David.
I encountered this argument recently and it seemed quite silly to me, so I got my hands on a copy of his book to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, and I remain ex... | 846 | 0.89 | null | false | 1,685,489,581 | [
{
"body": "u/knanahar has an [answer](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/o8oqer/-/h3hyzx0) about this that might help",
"created_utc": 1685523231,
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"id": "jmbcrww",
"permalink": "/r/AskHistorians/comments/13w5rqa/was_goliath_actually_the_underdog_in_the_biblica... | 1 |
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