askhistorians

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How would the experience in WWI differ between these groups: those in the British army pre-war, those who volunteered after it started, and those who were drafted?	5
What was the overall impact of Switzerland on the progress of WW2? I just read in this subreddit that the Axis would not have been able to function after the first year without Swiss support	5
In my mind, the various civilizations found in Central and South America before Columbus are at a hazy, uniform technological level of "simple". What technological changes occurred between the Mayan heyday and the Incas and Aztecs?	5
What factors led to the population of the United States being 10 times that of Canada? I assume this is due to unequal immigration; what caused that?	5
Why did the partition of India lead to a combined East and West Pakistan, rather than separate Muslim-majority countries? It seems insane to have two halves of a country 2000 km apart, especially when the bit in between is hostile.	5
Would someone with enough money to see a doctor be more or less likely to die of infection from a minor wound in Roman times as compared to the European middle ages?	4
I've heard that in the Age of Sail, an exploratory trip to the far flung parts of the world could have a 50% fatality rate to scurvy. What was the mood like among the crew when a ship got such an assignment? I would have previously though jubilant, now horrified.	3
How did the US Marshals - both in general, and the ones escorting Ruby Bridges to school in particular - feel about integration? Was there resistance among the ranks? Was there opposition that was quelled by the chain of command?	3
In medieval Europe, only the elite were able to use horses in battle. In Mongolia, everyone and their dog had a number of ponies for war. What caused this large disparity in war "equipment"?	3
Throughout the history of Christian Europe, Jews were faced with the decision: convert or die. As an atheist, faking the conversion seems the obvious choice. What religious or legal factors prevented Spanish Jews from faking a conversion to Christianity to avoid death?	3

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