askhistorians

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Many have already asked about PTSD affecting pre-industrial soldiers. However, I would like to know how the average person in a society dealt with the trauma and brutality that was more frequent in the pre-modern world (ex. acute hunger, plague, war, rape etc). More in text.	613
Were there different ethnic neighborhoods in the city of Rome where ethnicities clustered, such as the Chinatowns in various US cities?	64
Is there a consistent reason why there was little migration from mainland France to its colonies during the first and second French Empire (~1500-1963)? Even most of the French speaking pied-noirs in Algeria were from other European countries.	53
This may be a difficult question to answer. Does anyone know the tactics and weapons of the Kutama tribe in North Africa? They were used by the Fatimids and later dynasties as core units, but I can't find any specifics on why they were so good.	46
Are there any examples of pre-going to battle superstitious rituals that survived into the modern era during WW1 and WW2 that were practiced on soldiers by their families before they left for war?	34
I heard that throughout the Near East and Central Asia there are folk tales of Alexander the Great. Some involve him doing ridiculous things like fighting a giant crab. If you know one of these tales, could you share it?	21
Did the Ancient Roman nobility ever take a certain pride in being self-sufficient without the help of slaves? And related to that, were the Roman nobility allowed to bring their many slaves on campaign or did it make them look to dependent?	18
Since Great Britain had a huge head start in industrialization, why is it only 22nd in GDP per capita? I understand convergence in economics between wealthy and poorer countries, but it being industrialized decades earlier than other nations seems like a huge advantage.	13
Were men from the sub-tropical and swampy parts of Florida leveraged in the Pacific Theater during WWII? I was thinking maybe that some in command might have thought they could fare better in the tropical conditions of the Pacific.	10
Was there more prestige associated in having a commanding post in the navy or the army(or vis versa)in Britain during the 18th and 19th century ?	8

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