AskHistorians

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The Wikipedia article on chase guns in the Age of Sail shows an image of the cannons on the forecastle on the ship model of the “Soleil-Royal.” How would the aim of these guns, when fired, not be obstructed by the front of its own ship?	5
Pirates often flew their ships under false flags to sneak up on merchant ships, but did two pirate ships flying under false flags ever accidentally sneak up on each other?	5
What exotic animals (parrots, monkeys, etc.) could be kept during the Golden Age of Piracy, and were there ways of obtaining them other than from markets?	5
Details about merchant navies in the early 18th century?	5
Need help with a major part for my historical fiction story based on the Queen Anne's War.	5
There is a really short account I've read of a naval skirmish off Havana in 1711 where two British warships fight and capture a French ship and afterward, the "captives are set ashore at the Cuban capital." How would they be able to pull this off considering Havana was enemy territory at the time?	5
Why did it take until 1799 for British Royal Navy frigates to be equipped with bow and stern chasers when Great Britain had over 100 years of naval supremacy to come up with the idea? And what other ship classes did (and did not) have bow and stern chasers between 1700 and 1799?	5
In the Seven Years' War would a British admiral or commodore take command of their own ship, or did they just sort of "own it" and let it be commanded by its own captain?	5
If the British, French, and Spanish were fighting for control over the West Indies during the Queen Anne's War, Why didn't the Portuguese and the Dutch join in?	5
Did officers in the British army ever actually tried to kill each other out of extreme hate as portrayed in historical dramas?	5

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