Questions tagged [britain]
An island in North-Western Europe. Questions with this tag should refer to the history of the island of Great Britain, such as the relationship between the historical states of Britain. A separate tag exists for questions on history of the modern polity known as the United Kingdom.
160
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52
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4answers
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Why was it “acceptable” for Prince Charles to marry a divorced woman, when Edward VIII had to abdicate for marrying divorcee Wallis Simpson?
Heir to the British throne Prince Charles has married divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles without a constitutional crisis. When Edward VIII wanted to marry Wallis Simpson he had to abdicate.
Of course ...
43
votes
12answers
14k views
Were Medieval Britons aware of the existence of the Roman Empire?
I would like to know if the medieval people in Britain, by around 800 AD, knew that there was an empire that ruled Britain several hundreds of years before.
Otherwise, were there any myths, legends, ...
39
votes
1answer
11k views
Why does this London Underground poster from 1924 have a Star of David atop a Christmas tree?
There is currently an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago displaying posters promoting London Underground transit from the 1920's and 30's.
This interesting piece comes from 1924. A full ...
34
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2answers
6k views
Why were British ships not of the same quality as French and Spanish ships until the latter part of the 18th century?
In Patrick O'Brian's 'Men-of-War', it says (apparently referring to around the time the Victory was built [1759-65]),
...most of the British ships were not nearly so well built as the French or the ...
34
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2answers
8k views
When did Britain learn about the American Declaration of Independence?
When did Britain learn about the American Declaration of Independence?
We all know the declaration was made on July 4th, 1776. But when did news reach Buckingham Palace and do we have records of ...
30
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6answers
10k views
Why did Chamberlain remain Prime Minister of Britain until 10 May, 1940?
WW2 officially began on 1 September 1939, but Churchill did not become Prime Minister until 10 May 1940. Neville Chamberlain, the same leader of appeasement with Hitler, remained Prime Minister all ...
27
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10answers
17k views
What's the advantage of the infantry column formation in the Napoleonic Wars?
In movies/books set in the Napoleonic Wars, the British are normally deployed into lines and the French into columns. The columns are usually the advancing ones, charging into the line as the line ...
26
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4answers
714 views
How would you accurately use older British currencies when writing a story?
For writing a story set in the Napoleonic Wars era, how should one use the currencies accurately? I read in novels they use currencies like shilling, pound, guinea, sovereign, four (or six-, etc) ...
25
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4answers
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Was it possible for a message from Paris to reach London within 48 hours in 1782?
I used to have a paperback copy of Diplomacy of the American Revolution by Samuel Flagg Bemis, but now I can't find it. I seem to recall that American diplomats in Paris in 1782 (Franklin, Adams, Jay) ...
25
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1answer
4k views
What date does a 1738 British author intend by “soon after the revolution”?
In the February 1738 The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume XIII at page 80:
It is stated:
A manuscript writen by a great Uncle of mine, who dy'd soon after the Revolution came lately into my hands.
...
25
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1answer
1k views
When did the round house fall out of vernacular use throughout Britain and Ireland?
TL;DR
When did roundhouses fall out of vernacular use?
The time frame we have is full of gaps:
They fell out of use in South-West Britain in the 8th Century.
Wales may have had them potentially for ...
23
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4answers
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Why did Churchill become the PM of Britain during WWII instead of Lord Halifax?
It looks as though both Churchill and Lord Halifax were considered for the top job in 1940, but Halifax turned it down and Churchill took it.
History is not my area of specialization, so I cannot dig ...
20
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1answer
1k views
What was the Victorian opinion of the American Revolution?
BACKGROUND
It's pretty remarkable to me, though perhaps it shouldn't be, how much British popular debate there was about the American Revolution. It was often condemned, but sometimes openly ...
19
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6answers
8k views
Was there significant interbreeding between Romans and Native Britons?
During the days of Roman occupation in Britain (43AD to 450AD), did the Roman occupants of Britain interbreed and intermarry with the native British population substantially (is not only a couple of ...
19
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2answers
4k views
How much materiel was shipped to Continental Europe per month, after D-Day?
Once D-Day landed (1944 Jun 06), how much materiel was shipped into Continental Europe by the Western Allies per month? Did this monthly figure change much by 1945 May?
Materiel includes basically ...
19
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4answers
2k views
What is known about the possibility of a “real King Arthur”?
I once saw a documentary that discussed a discovered possible "round table" but wondered how "pie in the sky" this possibility was as well as just how much/how little evidence ...
18
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3answers
3k views
Did early northern Europeans drink alcohol?
Before the Roman empire brought alcohol to areas of Northern Europe around two thousand years ago, do we know if the native people of Britain and Scandinavia drank alcohol?
My preliminary search is ...
18
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9answers
4k views
Why did Latin disappear so completely in Britain after the Romans left?
My impression, wholly prone to error, is that despite centuries of Roman occupation, after the Anglo-Saxon invasions, Latin virtually became a dead language in Britain.
Other parts of the Roman ...
18
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1answer
1k views
What is the name and meaning of a World War 2 CCC Medal with both the Polish Eagle and British Statant Gardant Lion?
While looking through a collection of World War 2 medals, I came across this one (picture attached) and have been unable to identify it.
It is in the form of a shield, appears to have a Polish eagle ...
18
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5answers
3k views
In what language did Caractacus deliver his speech to the emperor Claudius?
In The Annals, the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus wrote about the British chieftain Caractacus and how he was captured by the Romans. According to him, Caractacus was taken to Rome along with his ...
18
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1answer
3k views
Were bookshops 'common' in the late 19th century, and how did they differ from modern ones?
I've been reading a little bit about Victorian publishing bit I'm struggling to get a feel for how common and how similar Victorian bookstores in London would be.
This is all I've read. It sounds ...
18
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1answer
2k views
When did Aurochs (large wild cattle) become extinct in Britain?
Estimated to average around 150cm (cows) and 170cm (bulls) at the shoulder, the aurochs
was an important animal to humans, during prehistory when it was
widely hunted, and in some areas also ...
16
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3answers
5k views
Can anyone identify the regiment and rank from this WWI photograph?
I am trying to identify the person in this WWI era photograph. I believe it may be my great great uncle John Hunt Marshall born Dec 29 1893 in Motherwell, Scotland. He graduated with a BSc from the ...
16
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2answers
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What was life expectancy in early medieval Britain?
I'm working on doing background research for one of my novels and I'm looking for roughly how old a male in the peasant class would've lived around 5th or 6th century Britain.
16
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4answers
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How and why did trade unions in America become influenced by organised crime, but unions in Britain didn't?
There is plenty of organised crime in Britain, and there always has been. People have slandered the unions in Britain with almost every foul name under the sun, but one thing I have never heard is ...
16
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1answer
1k views
What was the political consciousness of a 15th century English peasant?
How did they feel about the monarchy and living under lords? Were they are aware of alternative political structures? Did they believe their lives were fair?
16
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1answer
1k views
How common was banditry in 16th & 17th century Great Britain and Ireland?
I want to know about highwaymen and thieves and brigands who preyed on travellers. so, I am not interested in other organised criminal gangs such as smugglers or urban thieves.
14
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2answers
3k views
Why did William Wallace lose while Robert Bruce won?
At the battle of Falkirk in 1298, William Wallace (aka "Brave Heart") abandoned the guerrilla tactics that served him so well at Stirling Bridge, and adopted a strong, but "conventional" defensive ...
14
votes
3answers
6k views
What percentage of British and American troops were involved in direct combat with enemy in World War II
How large a proportion of British and American troops were involved in direct combat with the enemy in World War II? What was the casualty rate among those men?
13
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4answers
6k views
How fortified was Cyprus during WW2?
How fortified was Cyprus during WW2? By that I mean how many Allied naval ships were defending it, how many aircraft and airbases, and how many troops with what equipment?
The period I'm most ...
12
votes
2answers
4k views
What is this flag?
The following flag is worn by Princess Isabella when she meets William Wallace.
Actress Sophie Marceau as Princess Isabella in Braveheart
12
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2answers
558 views
Did iron age Britons still use the “ritual” sites built by their neolithic predecessors?
Pre-Roman sites in Britain get lumped together as "ancient", but in reality they span a good couple of thousand years between the neolithic and the iron age.
That made me wonder whether there was any ...
12
votes
1answer
490 views
Are there any ideas as to what the English landscape was like before the arrival of the Angles?
I am not sure if this question is within the guidelines (it may be), but I am curious as to this: In North America, for instance, it is often said it was heavily forested and that a squirrel could get ...
12
votes
1answer
690 views
Did Roman Britannia leave any impacts on English?
I was discussing French influence on English language with some other users and while on the topic of if the Latin influence on English language came exclusively from the Normans, it occurred to me ...
12
votes
3answers
878 views
WWII boat-looking bus
What was the purpose of this WWII boat-looking bus?
Description says:
Royal Navy officers 'aboard' 'HMS SPURIOUS MARK II' - a bus converted to resemble the island of an aircraft carrier. The bus ...
11
votes
5answers
962 views
What was the official attitude to Cromwell after the Glorious Revolution?
Under the restored Stuarts, obviously, Cromwell was vilified. Actually, his exhumed head was publicly displayed on a pike for more than 20 years during their rule (wikipedia devotes a separate article ...
11
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3answers
888 views
In World War II, why was the ratio of killed to wounded of the Royal Navy twice that of the US Navy?
Casualty numbers for Navy personnel killed and wounded in WWII cited by Wikipedia (for the Royal Navy) and the National World War II Museum in New Orleans (for the US Navy) show a big difference in ...
11
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3answers
2k views
How strong a land force did Germany need for a conquest of the British Isles in the summer of 1940?
In 1942, America's General Eisenhower summed up his gloomy assessment of an invasion of Nazi-held Europe in the "reverse" direction as 50-50 to get one division ashore, and one chance in five (20 per ...
11
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1answer
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A common find of metal detectorists across Britain is the silver “love token”, from around 1700. Do any contemporary sources describe the custom?
A typical example. Anecdotally, a young man would give a love token to his intended who would continue to carry it around, or throw it away if she failed to return his affections.
The majority are ...
11
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2answers
523 views
Did the Welsh ever call Britain Albion?
I understand that the word exists in Welsh, but that it's a modern loanword from Gaelic referring to Scotland.
Albion first appears in ancient Greek accounts along with Ierne as being part of the ...
10
votes
3answers
3k views
Are there any British peers whose surname matches their title? [closed]
Is it possible for a British peer to have the same surname and title? As in William Podunk, Duke of Podunk?
I had been quite sure of the thing's impossibility till I thought of a counterexample: ...
10
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3answers
38k views
What impact did the Seven Years War have on the American Revolution?
What impact did the Seven Years War have on the American Revolution?
10
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1answer
443 views
Did Victorian parents raise their children “sexless” to prolong innocence?
I was reading the (albeit not very historical) Chatelaine article "Can You Actually Raise A Baby Free From Gender?" and came across the statement:
The notion that a boy should have short ...
10
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2answers
25k views
Was Henry II's “. . . turbulent priest. . . ” quote accurate?
I remember reading somewhere (might have been Simon Schama) that Henry II's famous quote of:
Who will rid me of this turbulent priest
Was inaccurate, and he actually said something much stronger. ...
10
votes
2answers
924 views
How widespread was the consumption of rabbit meat by the poor in Medieval and Early-Modern Britain?
The Romans raised rabbits as livestock in Spain in the 2nd century BC and later brought them to Britain. French monks are believed to have domesticated them in the 5th century AD for their meat and ...
10
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1answer
532 views
What age were these Britons in A.D. 43?
I have been doing a lot of research on the Roman invasion of Britain and have come across a number of problems with information.
My question is how old specific people were in 43 AD. I have ...
10
votes
1answer
209 views
How was the transfer of personnel from British women's military services managed?
In the 1990's,the former women's services - WRNS, WRAC, and WRAF - were disbanded and women absorbed into the regular services. Whilst women still cannot serve in combat roles, they are armed and ...
10
votes
2answers
781 views
Why did Britain object to the Ottomans bringing its ships-of-the-line against Russia in the beginning of the Crimean War?
I came across this in the "Background section" of Wikipedia article Battle of Sinop.
Fighting at sea between Imperial Russia and the Ottoman Empire had
been going on for weeks, and the Ottomans ...
10
votes
2answers
1k views
How did the British Army unit size and structure in WWI change from 1915 to 1918?
Preface: For obvious reasons, we will assume ideal conditions for the purposes of this question. For convenience's sake, we will also ignore the original British Expeditionary Force that was almost ...
10
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4answers
329 views
How did American colonial rights and conditions compare to those within the British Isles?
A major point of contention between American colonists and British administrators was that the American colonists, being the descendants of Englishmen, allegedly should have been entitled to ...
