Weekly Historical past Questions Thread.
Welcome to our Historical past Questions Thread!
This thread is for all these historical past associated questions which are too easy, quick or a bit too foolish to warrant their very own put up.
So, do you might have a query about historical past and have all the time been afraid to ask? Nicely, at present is your fortunate day. Ask away!
After all all our common guidelines and pointers nonetheless apply and to be simply that bit additional clear:
Questions must be historic in nature. Foolish doesn’t imply that your query must be a joke. [r/history](https://www.reddit.com/r/historical past/) additionally has an energetic discord server the place you may talk about historical past with different fans and consultants
Comments ( 26 )
why were most troops in WWII on the African front dressed like boy scouts? Both the British and Germans wore shorts with high socks
Any good readings/suggestions on ancient conceptions of glory and honor et al?
I’ve been reading Roman history for a couple of months and I always feel a bit disconnected with that sort of talk, but it really seems to be central to their view of life.
TIA
What actually happened to the library of Alexandria? I’ve heard a couple different stories.
I was reading one of the comments here and a question came up: when did Americans start using the POTUS abbreviation?
Was clothing for Medieval European peasants just simple brown clothes, or is there evidence of more intricate garb.
There are some books about history of the people like A people’s history of united states by Howard Zinn but for all the people from the planet, or at least for the majority?
I am not a student and don’t have access to a scholastic database that I know of. I am doing solo research on fire starting during the iron age for a roleplaying game. I see many sites and institutions referencing fire strikers (flint and steel) being used as early as 500bc and up to the 1800s before the advent of friction matches. Before this as far as we know there was pyrite and flint/quartz(otzi the Iceman) and friction fires(neolithic/Mesolithic)
I feel like I’m rambling.
Where can I find references to this fire iron/iron striker in prehistory or even roman examples of strikers. I feel so lost.
Which battle had a greater impact on world events, the battle of philippi (Octavian and Mark Antony vs Brutus and Casssius) or world war 1
I’ve recently become a Napoleon fanboy. Have no idea how I glossed over him, for the most part I love the times of antiquity but Napoleon is freaking fascinating. Anyways, I was thinking today, in his first Italian campaign, how long did it take his opposing generals of Piedmont and Austria to realize they were dealing with a military genius? Do we have records of those opposing generals writing home and talking about Napoleon etc? I mean, in their defense he wasn’t a known commodity until that first campaign, so they would’ve have no idea what they were dealing with going into it.
How was the Greek concept of Kleos different to the Roman concept of Gloria?
With regards to the difference in society and time.
I’m ww1 how were the trenches built especially with the time it would take and the opposing trenches being so close?
how well built were Roman crucifixes? When the Romans crucified people (e.g. Jesus, so circa 0 CE), were the crosses they put them on hastily assembled or did they take a lot of care in assembling and building them? What did they do with them afterwards?
During WWII food rationing on the British home front, cheese manufacturing was converted to produce a standard cheddar cheese for efficiency, but people also received a milk ration. I was wondering how common it was for people to use said milk ration to make other varieties of cheeses at home, if they got bored of the cheddar.
I’m looking for documentary recommendations. For any history period really but WW2 is probably my favourite. I really liked the WW2 In Color shows on Netflix and looking for a similar format: Focus on the narrative, dramatic but not overdone, tells a compelling story, told by a narrator and commentary from historians. Any ideas?
I’ve read that Columbus actually landed in the Bahamas and not America. If Columbus had never set foot on the land, who was? Did Columbus see the eastern coast of America and not know it?
Historians often remark that there usually isn’t much surety in a lot of more ancient history. So why are they so adamant that something is inaccurate, especially when it can be left to human choice.
Example: I was watching a video where a historian said it was inaccurate that Norse soldier had an arm strap on his shield when the shields that have been found of this period didn’t.
Is it not plausible that a soldier thought of it himself?
I’ve always been curious about how historians evaluate events with little or no people that are alive today and lived through the events. Usually, we understand events best from the perspectives of those that lived through them. Take World War II for example. People that were 20 years old during that time would be around 100 years old today which means
that most of the people who lived through the Great Depression and World War II have already died. I feel like the people of today, even today’s politicians don’t understand what those people had gone through during tough times like the Great Depression and World War II. My question to you would be is it easier to evaluate events when they are closer in time to the present or is it easier to evaluate events much further back when there are no survivors of those events? How true is it that the people of today don’t understand what the times were like back then?
Does anyone have a sound/video with sound of what a French Revolution-era guillotine would sound like?
As a second question, did the technology change until the guillotine was abolished? If so, how? Were different materials used for the construction? Did the fundamentals of design change, or would a craftsman of ~1800 be able to make the 1977 guillotine without needing to see the blueprints?
Numidian Calvary and Horse Archers. Why chose javelins over bows?
The famous Numidian Calvary were excellent light Calvary used extensively by Carthage against Rome. They wore little armor, a light shield, and relied mainly on javelins with a sword for backup.
However, I wonder why a nomadic horse culture and warriors would end up favoring the use of javelins when horse archery seems to be superior in almost every way. The further range alone would grant the Calvary men much more safety then closing with the enemy to launch javelins.
Additionally, the small horses could support little weight (contributing to the lack of armor). Wouldn’t a bow and a bundle of arrows weight much less than a bundle of up to 10 javelins
I’m just trying to understand why things developed they way they are and how it would effect the people of the time. Thanks
Not sure if this is the right place, so please forgive me and point me at the right subreddit if it wasnt
At the end of Vietnam war, the US launched Operation Babylifr, that relocated 2600 children without their consent. Was that counted as a warcrime?
(Reposting)
Im from Philippines, and we were taught in school that the Spaniards who colonized us from 1500s to 1800s were the worst. I know a lot of other countries also went through Spanish rule, but how does PH’s experience as a colony compare to other Spanish colonies?
Hey everyone. I’m new here and as much as I want to read I’m looking for podcasts or history shows I can listen to since I don’t have a lot of time in the day. Can anyone recommend anything good?
In American history: was gun control ever a topic in the past? Like when Abraham Lincoln or John F Kennedy were shot?
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I’ve been reading Dan Simmons’ novel The Terror the past few weeks, which is loosely based on the disappearance of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in the 19th century while looking for the North West passage.
This is one of those nooks and crannies of history that I had never considered but now that I’ve read about it, I’m dying to learn more. Can anyone point me to some good sources on arctic and antarctic exploration?
Does anyone know of a reliable secondary source about how the rise of communism in China ended Western imperialism? I can’t find anything about it other than some unreliable websites.