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1500 questions
34
votes
7 answers
How were Martello towers supposed to work?
Having recently seen a Martello tower on the East coast of England, I tried to find-out what the defensive strategy was supposed to be - but the internet seems very short on information.
The South-East coast of England had 103 of the towers covering…
Lefty
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34
votes
1 answer
Who, if anyone, was the first astronaut to return to earth in a different vessel?
I assume, with the advent of the ISS, it is common for astronauts to return to earth in a different capsule to the one in which they first left the atmosphere. (I may be wrong) but who were the first person or people to do this? Was there someone…
JeffUK
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34
votes
1 answer
Why did the Republic of China retract its simplified Chinese characters?
The image below shows part of the list of simplified Chinese characters introduced by the Republic of China Department of Education in 1935. They were retracted in 1936, so China continued to use traditional characters until the People's Republic of…
Flux
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34
votes
2 answers
Why did the USA invade Okinawa instead of one of the many other islands in southern Japan
There are many other islands in southern Japan that seem large enough for B29 runways (the current runway is 2 miles). Why didn't the USA pick the island of least resistance? I'd assume Okinawa was the most fortified due to its size and local…
philn
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34
votes
1 answer
How do I find the sources which determined the year of the fall of Babylon?
I'm really asking a general question about the study of history. Allegedly, the Babylonian Empire fell to the Persians under Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE. All articles regarding this event simply take it for granted as an established fact. How would I…
Jackson Capper
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34
votes
2 answers
Why was no Nobel Prize for Literature awarded in 1935?
The Swedish Academy has just announced that as a result of recent scandals and associated resignations within the Academy, no prize for Literature will be awarded for 2018.
I am curious about this part of the article:
The honour has not been…
tardigrade
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34
votes
2 answers
Why were British ships not of the same quality as French and Spanish ships until the latter part of the 18th century?
In Patrick O'Brian's 'Men-of-War', it says (apparently referring to around the time the Victory was built [1759-65]),
...most of the British ships were not nearly so well built as the French or the Spanish: they were often slow; they nearly always…
Lars Bosteen
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34
votes
2 answers
Did Henry VIII have his bedroom bricked up every night?
I was just watching some TV with my kids, and we were enjoying the (normally reliable) Horrible Histories TV show.
It claimed that Henry VIII had a long series of bedtime preparations to ensure his nightly slumber was safe. Fair enough. The final…
Bob Tway
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34
votes
3 answers
What concessions did Hitler demand from the Poles before 1939?
On Wikipedia, it is stated that:
Earlier, Hitler's foreign policy worked to weaken ties between Poland
and France, and attempted to manoeuvre Poland into the Anti-Comintern
Pact, forming a cooperative front against the Soviet Union.
Poland…
NSNoob
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34
votes
10 answers
Is there a historical precedent to the vaccine scare?
Today many people believe that vaccines cause autism. Is there a historical equivalent to this conspiracy theory, in that people believe something to be harmful when it has been proven benign by authorities? Fluoride comes to mind, but I'm looking…
D J Sims
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34
votes
2 answers
WW2: Did US marines and soldiers really go into action with unbuckled helmet chin straps?
(Note: links go to realistically portrayed scenes of WW2 combat.)
I am watching Youtube clips of WW2 miniseries, like The Pacific and Band of Brothers.
Based on a non-scientific survey of these miniseries, it looks like US marines and soldiers…
Stephan Kolassa
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34
votes
8 answers
What were the main causes of successful take over of India by Britain?
The East India Company ruled an entire country of huge size for 101 years (1757–1858). During this time they did almost everything they wanted to do and won almost every battle in India.
What was the principle of the successful gradual takeover of…
user806
34
votes
4 answers
Was slavery in the United States legally limited to blacks?
Was slavery legally exclusive to race? That is, could blacks and only blacks in the United States be considered slaves under the law?
As an example, if an owner were to import into the United States a slave of another race, would their ownership…
user14982
34
votes
3 answers
When did the hypocrisy to call a dictatorship "free, democratic, republic etc." start?
If we take a look at country designations, with depressing regularity the most repressive ones call themselves e.g.:
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
German Democratic Republic
Democratic…
Thorsten S.
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34
votes
5 answers
What disruptions were brought about by Islam that the Arabians saw so many victories?
The Rashidun Caliphate had its inception with the advent of Islam. It was situated amidst two of the most formidable empires of the known world: The Byzantine Empire and The Sassanid Empire.
But within 30 years, the Caliphate overwhelmed both the…
Rohit
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