AskHistorians

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In Pirates of the Caribbean, the Black Pearl is feared as the fastest ship of the seas. Is there historical precedent for such a ship for the time period, and if so, what facet of its construction would allow it to be fast, and would it be difficult to build a ship that would match its capabilities?	61
In movies and tv shows we see huge warriors such as Boagrius in Troy and Theokoles in Spartacus, how realistic are they in terms of the ancient world, was it even possible for fighters to get that big without our modern diet?	35
How did mapmakers of old times know what coasts and landmasses looked like? How did they measure the distance, was it all based of hearsay and observation?	8
Looking at different plagues in history (Black plague, plague of Justinian, Spanish plague) there seem to be huge amounts of mortality for long periods of time. How did doctors/scientists of the time attempt to figure out what was happening?	5
Is the Black Plague the closest humans have come to extinction due to a global pandemic? If not, what is the closest thing?	5
Were astronomers able to see Jupiter's Great Red Spot in the mid 1600s? What did they believe the features on planets were?	3
What is the traditional way to celebrate Halloween and where are its origins?	3
It is known that the Arapaho native people's allied with the Lakota under the leadership of Red Cloud. Do we know what all the alliances at the time were with other tribes? What areas did they control and who where their enemies?	2
If the Aztecs and surrounding tribes (including Chichimeca, Tolteca, et.al) had not been ravaged by disease brought by Spanish Conquistadors, how assured would their demise have been? Would they have had a chance for success like Zulu against the British?	2
Why was the concept of "zero" so important to the Mayans?	1

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