askhistorians

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How well understood was it in 1885 that the Mikado was satirical of Britain?	7
Why were scythed chariots developed, and why were they retained despite what seem to be quite high-profile failures at Kounaxa in 401 BCE and Gaugamela in 331?	7
Did Orson Welles have anything to say about Jeff Wayne's adaptation of War of the Worlds?	7
How did MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) schemes come about?	6
In the closing stages of the Boshin War, the Imperial army that landed on Hokkaido had to deal with two modern forts that had been built in the 1860s: a high-walled coastal for (the Benten Daiba) and a Vauban-style star fort (the Goryokaku). Why and how were they built?	6
How did Mongol Yuan rule end in Korea and Manchuria? Did the Red Turbans get that far northeast, or were there separate, local uprisings concurrent with the revolt in China? Or did the loss of China make holding the other regions logistically impossible?	6
18th century muskets were generally produced without front or rear sights, but it seems to have been common for soldiers to improvise, using bayonet lugs as a front sight and with a groove cut at the rear of the barrel to line up. Why didn't most muskets get made with sights to begin with?	6
The chi-rho Christogram (☧) appears regularly in Late Roman imagery, especially, it seems, on shields, but why? How did this symbol become so popular, and when and why did it die out?	6
Apparently, British cavalry officer Louis Edward Nolan, who played a prominent part (and was killed) in the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava in 1854, remained on the Austrian Army roll until 1899. Was he getting paid, if so who got the money, and why did it take so long anyway?	6
How much foreign interest was there in the English Civil War, and were attempts made by continental powers to capitalise on it?	6

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