askhistorians

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If I lived in western Africa during the height of the Atlantic slave trade, how likely is it that someone I know was captured and shipped to the Americas? Was there a drastic change in culture as a result of the massive loss in population? What societal impact was there?	2014
Before the American Civil War, did anyone sell "slave-free" cotton the way organic foods are sold today?	1604
Why didn't China join the rush to set up colonies in the New World?	1325
Why was strangulation such a common Roman method of execution? Was this supposed to be an especially painful or merciful way to kill someone?	314
My AP textbook says that the US had segregated ambulances for decades. If this is true, how would it even work? If there were no black ambulances in range, would they just leave you to bleed out?	227
In the West, at what point in time could I reasonably expect the average person to have cash on them? Would a 1600s European peasant use money on a daily basis? Would an 1800s American farmer?	153
What was up with the Anti-Masonic Party? Why was Freemasonry considered such a pressing issue in 17th century America that people created a whole political party over it?	144
If I were a peasant woman in medieval Europe, how different would my daily life be from a peasant man's? Were certain jobs seen as "women's work"?	136
How common was mass ergot poisoning? Have there been any cases of mass hysteria or panic that have been proved to be caused by ergot?	132
When did the idea of international aid stop being anachronistic? At what point in time can you expect "There was an earthquake in the country next door, let's go help" to be an expected response?	110

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