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1500 questions
24
votes
5 answers
What was the last battle fought mainly by sail-powered ships?
When and where has the last battle between sail-powered ships been fought? If possible, please include the countries involved as well as the armament and types of ships.
quant_dev
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24
votes
2 answers
Has mercantilism ever been successful?
Mercantilism, which includes protectionism, industrial policy, capital controls, and other distortions to trade, is generally viewed by economists today as unsound economic policy. An overwhelming majority of mainstream economists view trade…
Tal Fishman
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3 answers
How to identify this coin with a bust on one side and the letters S and C on the other side?
I believe this coin is Roman but I'd like that confirmed. Can anyone give an approximate date and any other information possible (maybe difficult as it is quite worn). It measures between 2.5cm and 2.7cm in diameter.
I'd also be interested to know…
Lars Bosteen
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24
votes
9 answers
Who taught Russian in Eastern-bloc satellite countries?
After the USSR gained many satellites countries in central/eastern Europe in 1945, Russian became obligatory at school. It seems those Russian courses were highly unpopular and only a small minority of people managed to actually get fluent in…
Bregalad
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24
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5 answers
How did a besieged city/castle defend itself vs. catapulting diseased dead bodies into it?
I was a bit shocked to read that diseased dead bodies/animals where catapulted into besieged castles/towns. Biological warfare in the middle ages. But this "method" of warfare had probably a lot of advantages and disadvantages (no own losses, but…
Hauser
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24
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4 answers
Why did US Navy WW2 torpedoes detonate at the end of their run?
I'm listening to James Scott's "The War Below". In World War II, US Navy torpedoes detonated at the end of their range if they hadn't hit anything. So if a torpedo was fired and went its maximum range (4500y for the Mark 14) without otherwise…
raindog308
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votes
5 answers
How did ships acquire targets beyond the horizon in WWI?
From "The World Crisis, 1911-1928" (Winston Churchill):
... the 5th Battle Squadron had begun to fire, at the long range of
17,000 yards, upon Admiral von Hipper's last two ships.
If the horizon is about 4.7km away for an observer 5'7" (1.70m)…
C Camerini
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24
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4 answers
Did any European ever witness a major Inca religious festival?
Did any European witness an Inca religious festival?
George A. Solodun
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24
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5 answers
Was public transportation free in the Soviet Union?
Was public transportation free in the Soviet Union? I'm interested in the metros and buses. If not, what did they cost?
I'm most interested in the period around the late 1950's, early 1960's, but it would be interesting to know if the situation…
DrZ214
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24
votes
6 answers
What made the English the dominant power of the British Isles?
Recently, I've been searching a lot about Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England. One after the other, England vassalized its neighbors and became the head of Great Britain.
I can understand that Wales, which was really decentralized, couldn't really…
LamaDelRay
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votes
5 answers
Were there ever actual organizations of pirates?
You can see depictions of pirate organizations in popular media a fair bit. For example, in many movies, and the Captain Morgan commercials. But I get the impression from my readings that most pirate crews operated independently from each other. Of…
T.E.D.
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4 answers
When was the last documented occasion that Arab or Ottoman slave traders abducted people from Europe?
According to Wikipedia, slave raids continued on a small scale until the 19th century. When was the last time slaves were taken from Europe?
Edit: to be clear, I'm talking about slavery in the classic sense, where a group of raiders arrive and seize…
Ne Mo
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24
votes
4 answers
Why did the United States enter World War I?
The topic of World War I came up last night with a few strangers, at a bar, of course. One seemingly knowledgeable gentleman, who happened to have Howard Zinn's A Peoples' History of the United States in his bag, suggested that America entered World…
samthebrand
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8 answers
Why were the Germans and Russians so fixated on an unlikely "separate peace" in 1945?
Anyone familiar with the history of WW2 will know that the Germans hoped for and the Russians feared the British and Americans in 1944/45 might make a separate peace with Hitler and even join together with Germany and fight the Russians.
The facile…
Tea Drinker
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votes
2 answers
What did Native Americans know, or speculate, about the Old world?
When Columbus "discovered" the New World, the Old World had little to no knowledge of it. What little was known was perhaps Greenland, and - based on accurate knowledge of the size of the world - a vast expanse of unknown between Europe and East…
congusbongus
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