AskHistorians

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I’m a powerful noble in the Middle Ages. By the standards of the day, the King’s oldest son and heir would be a terrible king. The King’s younger son would be an excellent king. What would I think, feel and do leading up to the accession of the new king? Who would I support and why?	14
What is the current thinking around Nefertiti becoming pharaoh in her own right between her husband’s death and Tutankhamun’s reign?	14
When Henry VII won the crown, he emphasised that it was by conquest (rather than by blood). Was this an obvious decision to make and did it have any pitfalls?	13
Henry II of England crowned his son, Henry the Young King but gave him no real authority, command or wealth. What was the reason for crowning him if not to give him some authority?	12
Were the 70s really such a peak for violent crime? Why did the violent crime rate drop so much over the 80s and 90s?	12
How was corruption handled by the emerging democracies of the early modern/enlightenment period? How effective were these new governments at identifying and minimising it?	11
In references about ~18th Century western life (Hamilton, Barry Lyndon, Jane Austen novels, Hornblower) pistol duels seem common enough. Why would someone put themselves in that situation and how common was it?	11
Did the Hapsburgs feel their common features were a status symbol? Did they to emphasise the Hapsburg appearance in art and propaganda or were their features really that pronounced?	11
Who was the Bayeux Tapestry intended to inform or persuade and why would a tapestry be the preferred medium?	11
Elizabeth I took the throne in her own right but her grandmother, Elizabeth of York, had an arguably stronger claim and only took the throne through marriage to Henry VII. What happened over that time that allowed the reality of a queen regnant?	9

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