askhistorians

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How did the mythology of the Greek gods and heroes get passed down to us? Was it written down and preserved? Was it passed down orally?	5
Rome, Athens, Carthage, and other citizen-focused cities had tiered citizenship, with the higher rungs and best political offices open only to those with the most wealth. Do we know how these societies justified plutocracy over meritocracy? What did the rich say to the poor?	5
The US went to war to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. But was Kuwait the primary concern, or was it fear that Iraq was going to invade Saudi Arabia next, and wanted to prevent 40% of the world's oil reserves from falling into Saddam Hussein's hands?	5
Thirteen years after Spain surrendered East and West Florida to the British, the colonies turned down the opportunity to participate in the Continental Congress. Did they have a better experience with British rule? Why weren't they interested in joining the American Revolution and breaking free?	5
I'm a state lawmaker considering this newfangled US Constitution everyone is talking about. How big of an inducement is the promised relief from my state's debt incurred during the Revolutionary War if we adopt it? Is this debt really weighing my state down?	5
How frequently did premodern European agriculturalists face famine or food insufficiency? Once a decade? Once every few years?	4
Was there a decline in free markets/dynamic capitalism between antiquity and the medieval period?	4
Why was Diderot's Encyclopedia banned in France?	4
The American Revolutionary War had a positive short-medium term outcome. But it seems like most historical political/economics revolutions were incredibly destructive and net negatives for those involved. Is this a fair conclusion?	4
Following the independence of the United States, most of the new country's trade remained with Britain, with French trade being a fairly small slice of overall trade. Why wasn't there a greater volume of French trade?	4

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