Questions tagged [early-modern]
The Early Modern period is generally considered to start at the Renaissance and discovery of the New World (circa 1500) and end around the Age of Revolutions (circa 1800). It is the first part of the most recent of the three major ages of history (Classical, Medieval and Modern).
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How effective were early modern hand grenades?
I saw a video about the 1683 siege of Vienna, and in the video, it talked about hand grenades that were used in the siege, and that the Ottomans used glass grenades that would explode once shattered ...
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What was the ethno-linguistic makeup of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth?
What was the ethno-linguistic makeup of the Rzeczpospolita, that is, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth prior to the partitions?
EDIT: Clarification, asking what were the percentages to total ...
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Why are there 37 numbers on European roulette wheels?
A European roulette wheel contains the numbers 0 to 36. Who decided to put 37 numbers on a wheel, and why did they choose this number?
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How can I find English versions of these books by A. Suter?
Does anyone know if any of these books is available in English (either for purchase or free download)? If so can you suggest a corresponding website?
Suter, Andreas (1997): Der Schweizerische ...
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Anyone have a clue what was going on with Biledulgerid?
Wikipedia has a tiny stub on Biledulgerid that—on the basis of its 19th century source—treats it as an actual kingdom in early modern northwest Africa. This early 18th-century source, meanwhile, ...
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Why were eastern European states larger than western European states for much of history?
For reference, ever since the Treaty of Verdun in 843, large, centralized states in western Europe seemed to be the exception rather than the norm. Of course, there are exceptions, such as England and ...
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Did the Joseon dynasty ask the Ming/Qing emperors for permission to crown a new king?
Since they were vassals of Ming and Qing dynasties, did the Joseon kings ask permission for their coronation?
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Why did Gödel think the Viennese Academy of Sciences was founded earlier?
Mathematician Karl Menger, a colleague of famous mathematician Kurt Gödel, says this on pages 222-223 of his book “Reminiscences of the Vienna Circle and the Mathematical Colloquium“:
Meanwhile, ...
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Where can I find information about Spanish soldiers in Porto? 1596-1598
Currently I'm doing a research on early-modern History in the city of Porto, Portugal. I'm very interested about demography- emigration- and what I wanted to do was to find Spanish people during the ...
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Why did peasant serfdom last longer in Eastern Europe than in Western?
My concern is for the early-modern period, roughly 16th to 19th centuries. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia seem to provide the best known examples of long-lasting serfdom.
The article on ...
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What was the dominant government system in the 1600s~1800s?
I'm making a game where the player begins with small tribe in Ancient Era and for each era there are government systems to choose. They are very similar to the ones from the Civilization series. Below ...
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How were British monarchs educated about military strategy in the Middle Ages and early modern period?
It seems Erasmus and the like gave humanist education in classics and liberal arts. It also seems tactics were taught through childhood games, hunting, and archery contests. But what about the skill ...
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What were the heir and children of monarchs with the titles "Grand Prince" or "Prince" called?
I've tried to look everywhere, but I could not find anything substantial.
What I want to know is, what were the heirs and grander offspring of monarchs, with titles such as "Grand Prince" or ...
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Why did King Charles II cede New Amsterdam / New York to his brother James, Duke of York, in 1664?
On Wikipedia we read:
In 1664, King Charles II of England ceded to his brother, the Duke of
York, later King James II, a large tract of land that included all of
New Netherland. This came at a period ...
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Why did no one take Siberia over before the Russians, and how did they do it?
I realize that Russia had ambitions in the east and they took over Siberia. However Siberia was just north of the Mongols really and its islands were easily accessible to Japan in history. They even ...
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What would have been the price of a loaf of bread in 1645 Amsterdam?
I want to know how much a loaf of bread would cost in Amsterdam in the year 1645.
Preferably I'd like the pricing of a bakery near the harbor but a comparison of the bread prices between the harbor ...
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What ancient manuscripts were lost when the Huguenots destroyed the Cluny Abbey library?
I've heard that the destruction of the great Cluny Abbey library (in the Burgundy region of France) both by the Huguenots (1562) and later during the French Revolution meant that a massive number of ...
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What was the point of hanging in “hanging, drawing, and quartering”?
As I understand it, “hanging, drawing, and quartering” was specifically designed in order to be torturous and frightening. Certainly drawing (whether referring to dragging by a horse, or ...
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Why did the first Safavid Shia become Shia?
I'm currently reading the history of Safavid Iran (by Roger Savory) which was a Shia ruling. The eponym of Safavid is Safi-ad-din Ardabili that was a Sunni. We can be sure that his grandson Khvajeh ...
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What was the biggest region in the Holy Roman Empire that was never Protestant, if any?
It is well known that Germany is denominational divided. This comes from the time of Reformation and esp. the Peace of Augsburg 1555, when the right of each prince of the Empire to decide over the ...
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Were there early modern precursors to eugenics?
Eugenics, which I'll define here as the selective breeding, sterilization, and biological engineering of humans with political or utopian aims, was a major historical force between the late Victorian ...
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How would “distraint of knighthood” law in medieval England fit with the fact that all knights must be of noble birth?
I've read recently about “distraint of knighthood” law in medieval England started by Henry III but I found it very strange indeed.
This law forced all rich people who has 40 £ or more to be knighted ...
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What is the original source of this 16th century image of a French town holiday with musicians in a tree?
Several sites have this image below but none give any information about the original source.
Image source: fineartamerica. The same image can also be found at Granger and (on various items such as ...
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Are there primary source to learn about trade in Southeast Asia circa 1450-1750?
I was wondering if anyone knew any primary sources that will help me learn more about trade in Southeast Asia from 1450-1750. Years are a bit flexible.
I only have two in mind
The Suma Oriental by ...
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Why did a Venetian colonel defect to the Ottomans during the siege of Candia?
Following up on my interest in the Knights of Malta, I got to reading about their part in the Cretan War which went on from 1645 to 1669. This led me to the siege of Candia. This started in 1648 and ...
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Did slaves have slaves?
Was there anywhere in history where the enslaved were able to enslave others?
Was there a slave hierarchy?
I read the slavery wikipedia entry, it mentions that in various cultures people retained ...
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How did Jean Parisot de Valette, 49th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, die?
I've just finished reading Sword and Scimitar by Simon Scarrow and wanted to know more about the non-fictional characters in the Siege of Malta. Jean Parisot de La Valette was the Grand Master and he ...
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Did galley captains put corks in the mouths of slave rowers to keep them quiet?
I’m reading Sword and Scimitar by Simon Scarrow and there’s this bit about rowers in galleys of the Knights of St. John (Malta). In the story, it is important the Knights' galley keeps silence so that ...
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Are there any histories of indigenous Americans who were taken to Europe?
I have read brief accounts of indigenous Americans who were taken to Europe in the wake of Columbus's arrival, including a family of Inuit who were taken to meet Elizabeth I but died shortly after ...
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Are there any famous people who died from cancer before 1800? [closed]
Cancer was described by the ancient Egyptians by 1600 BC and, much later, by Hippocrates and then Celsus during the early empire. Cases were diagnosed but there is no mention of people who were famous....
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What led some people to (correctly) believe that there was no land under the ice cap at the North Pole?
In the 1595 Map of the Arctic, Mercator shows the North Pole as having a substantial landmass surrounding a rock.
Source: Wikipedia
A little over a hundred years later, Guillaume de L'Isle's 1714 ...
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For the French Army under Jean Martinet (d1672) how and why were cavalry used instead of infantry?
For France's army of the period of Jean Martinet (d1672) in the Early modern, how and why were cavalry used instead of infantry?
In European warfare the default company is the infantry company. This ...
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Why did piracy thrive in the late 17th and early 18th centuries?
Why did piracy thrive in the late 17th and early 18th centuries?
Was it because the sailors in the Royal Navy and privateers were not satisfied with their pay? Was it because since many wars were ...
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Aside from Henry VIII, did a king ever take part in a joust as an unknown knight (incognito)?
The unknown knight would seem to belong in the realm of fiction - witness Gareth in Le Morte d'Arthur and Wilfred in Ivanhoe, among others - but incognito knights fighting in jousts or melees were not ...
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Where can I find pictures of clothing of poor or common male European musicians between 1500 and 1700
Can anyone provide pictures or credible descriptions of clothing as a modest musician anywhere in Europe might have worn between 1500 and 1700? I realise that my question spans 200 years and many ...
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Who are the three men standing and what are they holding at this University of Paris Doctors' Meeting?
The image below is used on several sites but none of them give much information on this painting other than "Medieval Education in Europe: Meeting of Doctors in the University of Paris" and the source ...
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Has there ever been an archbishop or bishop younger than the 16-year-old James of Nicosia?
In 1456, King John II of Cyprus appointed his illegitimate son James as Latin Archbishop of Nicosia. James was just 16 at the time.
James soon lost his position, being forced to flee the following ...
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Why did the Chinese not use military power to force out early Portuguese, Dutch and English trade encroachments?
From what I understand, during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the Chinese were more advanced in trade and warfare than the Portuguese and Dutch who tried to (and eventually succeeded in) take over ...
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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 ...
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Representative early Anglican hymns?
Are there any church hymns that would be in use in the early (16th to early 18th centuries) Anglican church, and would be distinctly Anglican? (In the kind of way in which Ein Feste Burg is distinctly ...
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Has an heir ever made the country believe the current ruler died in order to take over the throne?
Before the invention of the semaphore and the telegraph, a message couldn't travel faster than the speed of a horse (or maybe a messenger pigeon or something along those lines - still pretty slow).
...
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What are these items in this 16th century plan of an English town?
This plan or picture map of Great Yarmouth is from the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). According to the Norfolk Record Office (pdf),
It shows the town’s defences at the time of the Spanish Armada ...
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Which Kings of France visited England?
Every English King from Edward the Confessor (d. 1066) to Edward IV (d. 1483) was in France at some point during their lives, almost all during their reigns, and some were born there.
These 'visits' ...
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How many languages did Leibniz speak?
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German polymath. I've found information that say he was a polyglot who wrote primarily in Latin, French and German, but I cannot find any specific info about the other ...
user31484
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How long did it take to get news of the sighting of the Spanish Armada from Land’s End to London?
When the Armada was sighted, fire beacons carried the warning from Land’s End (western tip of Cornwall) to the rest of the country (this link has some details on how the system worked).
"Armada ...
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At the beginning of English Civil War, why did Parliament take a hard line with neutrals, thereby effectively helping Royalist recruitment?
In Cavaliers and Roundheads, Christopher Hibbert notes the problems King Charles I had recruiting men for his army. Even in late August 1642, he had “scarcely more than 1,000 men” and was greatly ...
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When, and where, was the word 'Anglican' first used in the context of the Protestant Church of England?
According to Wikipedia, "The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English Church." However, this usage referred to the ...
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Which European towns or cities are architecturally most similar today to how they would have been in 16C-17C?
Which European towns or cities are architecturally most similar today to how they would have been in the 16th and 17th centuries? A different way of asking the question: which contemporary European ...
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What is the history behind this English village well?
The thatched well (below) in the village of East Marden is a well-known attraction in the South Downs, not far from Chichester. The village is recorded in the Domesday Book (as Meredone) and St. Peter'...
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What was the origin and purpose of the "Montes"?
Reading History of the Popes, by von Ranke, the author mentions the creations of several Montes (one of them is Monte Pío). Does anyone know what is the date of the first Monte ever created and what ...
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