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Here are some methods that were used throughout history to fight infection. Australian Aborigines discovered that eucalyptus and tea tree bark and leaves could ease certain infections. Other aboriginal societies used local herbs to help ease the symptoms of infection. This was typically tribal knowledge passed down through generations of healers. As ...


8

To an extent the answer depends on what you mean by 'medieval times'. The answer in 800 is very different from 1400. However, I'll have a go for the later medieval period, post Normanisation around 1100 until 1500. The idea that Scotland in the late medieval period operated under some sort of 'clan system' is not true. 'Clan' is really just another name for ...


7

Iceland prime minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir had joined in a civil union with Jónína Leósdóttir in 2002, and had converted the union to the marriage in 2010 as soon as that became legal in Iceland. It is logical to suppose she supported gay marriage at least since 2002 though of course she wasn't the prime minister then. Spain's Zapatero declared he ...


7

This legendary self-sufficiency isn't quite as it seems. From Colonial days, almshouses (aka poor houses) and orphanages were around to look after those with no family although this tended to be uneven in application and quality of care. While many of these were affiliated with a church, some were operated by state and local governments. People also ...


4

Not exactly a SSM but very, very close: in Denmark "civil union" or "registered partnership" was allowed in 1989 - see wikipedia: A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in ...


3

There was a set of reforms introduced by Napoleon into conquered countries The law based on Napoleonic code. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified. The code declared presumption of innocence, competitive trial and right to an attorney. The code prohibited ...


3

During the plague years of the Thirteenth Century, towns excluded people that had visited plague cities from entering and ships were sometimes quarantined when entering port. Measures for containing plague inside towns included walling up of houses, inhabitants and all or burning of afflicted villages. Anyone who nursed a plague victim in some towns was ...


3

I dug up a population graph for China, and actually the timing is not as bad for that theory as you might think. (full-size image at the link) If you follow the link to examine the graph's data more closely, it looks like the inflection point happened sometime in the century between 1650 and 1750. Kangxi reigned from 1661 to 1722. However, there doesn't ...


3

If you look back through history, the root cause of major social reforms in the United States was the Great Depression of 1929. Prior to that, most Americans were self-sufficient and fiercely proud. The Great Depression changed all of that practically over night. There were a number of other factors that were already beginning to develop, most notably the ...


3

What happens after "widespread social chaos" is difficult to predict as it often depends on local conditions combined with regional and international considerations. There are often two requirements that a nation needs to fulfill after any internal disorder, those being economic sufficiency and a need to establish a system of just governance. In many ...


3

After the Mazdak revolution in Persia in 6th cent(with slogan: slaves, ground and women must belong to everybody), the population was practically annihilated, so Arabians came almost to the empty place later. After the 184—204 riot in China there remained about 7 out of 50 millions of population. After French revolutions of 1789-1871 the France became a ...


3

This could go anywhere. The French revolution: Started with the overthrowal tyrannous rule and ended with the beheading of many people, a failed republic, and many years of turmoil. France was surrounded by many sates, and so, was at war a lot, impoverishing people everywhere. In France, the revolution wasn't good for the people American Revolution: ...


3

There have been no studies that I am aware of and history seems to indicate that there is not a correlation between longevity and frequency of wars. Whether or not a nation goes to war is dependent on many factors that have nothing to do with a given ruler's age. A decision to go to war can be based upon being attacked by another nation, desiring natural ...


3

The original question relates most strongly to Weberian conceptions of class. I would suggest that Bordieu's Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste would be useful here. During the 19th century, the petits-bourgeois and professionals along with some small capitalists, homogenised in Western Europe under the pressure of urbanisation, ...


3

This one could be interpreted a number of ways, and most of the interpretations could be answered with a book. I'm going to take a shot at it anyway. In Marxism, the bourgeoisie is the class that owns the means of production. This can be direct ownership of, say, a factory or train; or it can be a nice stock portfolio. The key point is that you are ...


2

You are describing a chaotic situation. Almost by definition, how things develop out of a chaotic situation cannot be predicted. For what tiny bit it's worth, here are a few things I think history (both old and recent) can tell us. When you finally let everyone have their say (vote), rather than just the activated people in the streets, you are likely ...


2

Maggot Therapy has been used since ancient times to treat infected wounds. Several anti-microbial plants have also historically been used. None of the treatments were very effective AFAIK.


1

What differentiated the monarchies of France and its allies from other European monarchies was that the "monarchs" were "nouveaux riches," (nouveau empowered, actually) as opposed to "established" monarchs. As for their claims to being "revolutionary," these monarchies were "born" in the French Revolution, and paid "lip service" to "Liberte, Egalite, ...


1

Well, Napoleon's empire and his satellites were born out of the French Revolution and presumably in his first years in power as First Consul, before he became emperor, he might have well retained some of the revolutionary rhetoric. (Did he actually? It'd be a good technical follow-up question). However, once he became emperor, Napoleon didn't seem to have ...


1

The premise sounds unlikely, unless Chinese people of the period had either effective birth control (of what form?) or were killing children after birth, e.g. by exposure. Otherwise population growth is much more frequently limited by infant mortality, war, disease, availability of food etc etc. People will keep having sex, whatever you do; unless there's ...


1

From at least the Middle Ages, there had been a combination of systems to support the poor, the old, the infirm, and so on. People lived in networks of extended family, and the more successful members of a family were expected to support the less successful; that was the first stage of the safety net. Once family resources were exhausted, or if you had no ...


1

I believe the answer you're looking for is a direct result of the Industrial Revolution which occurred between 1750-1850, exactly the correct time frame for the time period you're referring to. This allowed enterprising entrepreneurs to harness the technological advances in production machinery to both produce more for less and new mass produced items that ...



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