AskHistorians

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Why did it take the printing press so long to get invented?	93
During the Reformation, were there any serious voices to adopt Orthodox rites in place of Catholicism? And, what was the stance of Luther or Calvin on Orthodox Christianity?	90
In c. 200 BC, Rome gave generous peace terms to its defeated enemies (Carthage, Greece); by 150 BC, Rome was ruthlessly exterminating the same enemies. What caused the shift in attitude?	77
I'm a wealthy 17th century Frenchman who wants to live in central Paris. Can I just go and buy an "apartment"?	73
Religious societies usually took a long time to secularize, often following modernization or industrialization. How did a deeply religious and agrarian Russia so quickly accept a formally atheist Soviet government?	68
During and after the Black Tuesday crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, did most stocks permanently go bust, or was it a temporary, if severe, downturn? Were there people willing and able to "weather the storm" and end up with a long-term profit?	59
To what extent do historians consider great artists to be the products of the society and culture of their times, rather than standalone geniuses? Could there be a French Shakespeare, or an English Moliere?	53
18th-century Russia had four Empresses-regnant (most famously, Catherine the Great), wielding considerable, formally absolute power. How did a patriarchal, heavily religious society, with ordinary women generally having next to no power or representation, end up accepting female rulers as autocrats?	46
I have a sweet tooth. How limited would my options be as an average urban resident in western Europe of the High middle ages?	40
Why did Silent Era movies use full-screen text inserts, rather than text being in the bottom of the screen like modern-day captions?	39

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