All Questions
Tagged with 17th-century 18th-century
15 questions
41
votes
6
answers
11k
views
Why didn't line infantry tactics try to keep up a constant volley of fire?
Often in movies on the American revolution and back when muskets were common place the opposing armies would line up facing each other and take turns firing. One side, then the other. Kind of like a ...
- 521
14
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Why was slavery profitable in the Southern colonies and not New England?
Why didn't Colonists in New England import massive numbers of Slaves?
- 2,917
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why was there no concerted effort to end the Barbary pirate raids until the 1800's?
Barbary pirate raids on the Mediterranean coast led to widespread depopulation of the coasts from Venice to Malaga with the obvious exception of the larger cities. The pirate raids also seem to be the ...
- 7,312
6
votes
1
answer
392
views
Was it widespread during the 17th and 18th Century for British country people to be evicted and replaced with more profitable agriculture?
We can read about the Scottish Highland clearances. It does appear that the driving motivation was that sheep pastures were more profitable.
This was the time of the Industrial Revolution, when many ...
- 2,209
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Did Freemasons hold Enlightenment ideals?
I was doing research on early US presidents and read that men like George Washington probably were attracted to the Masonic Lodge due to the Lodge aligning well with popular Enlightenment ideas around ...
- 1,258
4
votes
1
answer
954
views
Do we have any authentic Native American flute music from the 18th century or earlier?
Just wondering if any actual music from Native Americans was recorded (written record, transcribed to some kind of sheet music) by Europeans, in the 18th century or earlier. I'm especially interested ...
- 17.3k
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Where did a ship's navigator usually work?
On a 16-1700s ship, did the navigator have his own room/section of the ship to work? If so, where? Any articles I find just talk about how the navigate, not where.
3
votes
1
answer
195
views
When were public tariffs and taxes for water supply introduced for the first time?
Early Rome had indoor plumbing, meaning a system of aqueducts and pipes that terminated in homes and at public wells and fountains for people to use.It was in the 18th century that a rapidly growing ...
- 841
3
votes
0
answers
532
views
Was there any restriction on private citizens owning cannons and other large weaponry in 17th, 18th and 19th century Europe? [closed]
Were there laws limiting what kind of guns a private citizen in Europe could own? Could John Doe go to a shop and commission a cannon to be made for his own personal use?
- 139
3
votes
0
answers
281
views
How was Virginia transformed from a society with slaves, to a slave society? [closed]
Not sure what the main answer to this question.
I know Bacon's rebellion changed the lives of many poor whites with no land.
Also, there were the slave laws which I need to do more research on.
- 139
2
votes
1
answer
3k
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What is the earliest mention of use of spyglass by seafarers?
I am somewhat familiar with history of telescope in the scientific context however didn't find much info about history of its use for practical purposes beyond general statements. I'm more interested ...
- 994
2
votes
0
answers
217
views
Why would a 17th century vinegar merchant have two cups as part of the standard supplies?
Vinegar merchants in 17th and 18th northwestern Europe sold door-to-door and to people on the street. In these two images (from the Rijksmuseum) it shows the wheelbarrow they used to transport the ...
- 546
2
votes
3
answers
212
views
How would a musician travel from Venice to Dresden around 1700?
I'm writing a historical fiction TV pilot and I need some help from the history buffs here. One of my characters, a young, aspiring, musician needs to travel from Venice to Dresden, Germany. I suspect ...
-1
votes
1
answer
365
views
Do we have any records of what pirates during the golden age of piracy would actually sing?
In almost EVERY Hollywood depiction of Pirates the pirates almost always sing some sort of song/sea shanty.
But do we have any actual records of what songs the pirates of golden age of piracy (1650 to ...
- 405
-4
votes
1
answer
374
views
How did pirates back in the day not get killed themselves when they attacked ships? [closed]
Maybe I'm completely misinformed about how things were done "back in the day" (I imagine 1600s-1800s, when all ships were completely made out of wood with sails), but once the pirates had ...
- 1