askhistorians

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Characters in modern fiction will sometimes say or do racist, homophobic or otherwise bigoted things as a quick way to establish them as unsympathetic or villainous. Before popular opinion on these issues shifted, did older fiction do the same with characters expressing egalitarian beliefs?	17
George Gleig and James Tytler wrote in the 3rd edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica that Newton's theory of gravity was false, and gravity was instead caused by the classical element of fire. What exactly did this mean, and was it a common view at the time? Was their claim controversial?	16
Why do I still see historians using the terms Old World and New World when they seem obviously based on Eurocentric ideas about colonialism? It seems like calling the Americas the "New World" is little different from repeating the idea that Columbus "discovered" them.	16
Were there any major drug trade-related political or military conflicts prior to the Opium Wars?	14
Given the Second Amendment's often-stated purpose of providing a means to combat government tyranny, how did the gun rights movement in America become so heavily associated with police and the military?	14
When and where might an average European have first encountered the idea that they were racially superior to people from Africa, Asia or the Americas?	14
During his rise to power, did anybody question Mussolini's credibility as a fascist due to his previous career as a Marxist?	12
At the 1904 Olympics marathon, there was only one water source on the 24-mile track in 90 degree heat, one runner was fed rat poison, another was chased off-course by dogs, and only 14 of the 32 competitors finished at all, among several other incidents. Simply put, what happened?	11
How good/reliable of a source on history is the YouTube channel Told in Stone?	9
Why are certain beliefs, like those of the Greeks, Romans and Norse, almost exclusively referred to as "mythology" rather than "religion"?	8

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