askhistorians

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Ian Fleming’s James Bond is often depicted wearing a Rolex, driving a Bentley (or Aston Martin) and drinking the finest drinks in the finest places. But in the 1950s and 1960s what would a secret agent’s wage actually be and would there be all the perks that James Bond enjoys?	4856
The “myth” goes that Columbus believed that the world was round. The churches and state were sceptical of these claims and demonised Columbus. I now understand this wasn’t the case at all. Where does the story of a sceptical flat-earther Catholic Church trying to denounce Columbus come from?	3508
It’s 10AD in Ancient Rome. My wife has just dropped dead suspiciously and all the locals think that I did it, they want justice. What kind of judicial process (if any) will there be and what rights of defence do I have?	373
Boris Yeltsin is often shown as vigorously anti communist - was this always his stance or did it develop as the Soviet Union started to crumble and fall apart? Did he join the communist party with the intention of uprooting it?	156
How big an issue was piracy back in the 18th century? Was there a general hysteria and worry or has pop culture made it seem more extreme then it was?	155
Are there theories of evolution which pre-dated Charles Darwin?	145
Did people outside of London or even England know Shakespeare during his lifetime? How far could the material spread without mass printing and if you had to go to the Globe to see it?	54
Was Mozart wealthy during his own lifetime? Would he have had riches comparable to today's celebrated musicians and what kind of lifestyle do we know Mozart had? Was it extravagant? Starving artist? Or somewhere inbetween?	38
If countries like Georgia, Lithuania, Estonia were part of the Soviet Union why were countries like Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia still independent and not Soviet officially during 1945-1991?	38
What (if any) were the long term plans for Vichy France and German occupied France?	30

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