49
votes
Accepted
Was it possible for a young Japanese woman to end up enslaved in Great Britain in the mid-1600s?
No.
At least, not to any practical intent or purpose.
Japanese in Britain
Significant numbers of Japanese were actually sold into slavery overseas during the 16th century, mostly through Portuguese ...
- 97.6k
40
votes
Accepted
Was there a tax in the fifties for British citizens traveling abroad?
Currency restrictions existed between 1939 and 1979.
The main goal of these restrictions after 1945 was to insure that enough foreign exchange was available to finance needed imports from non-sterling ...
- 9,905
39
votes
Accepted
Did a British civilian row across the channel and shoot 6 Luftwaffe pilots?
A British man heard that some Luftwaffe were bragging about bombing London (this was amidst the siege of Britain made by Germany during WWII). This enraged the man so much that he rowed across the ...
- 9,905
37
votes
Accepted
Could George I (of Great Britain) speak English?
Yes, George I was indeed able to speak English. Not particularly well, mind you, but also not nearly as incapably as popular history portrays. In fact, he even opened his first Parliament in English:
...
- 97.6k
34
votes
What was the pound (unit of weight) initially equal to?
When in doubt about an English word - check the OED. Here is its etymology and usage history for the first sense of pound:
... This pound consisted originally of 12 ounces, corresponding more or less ...
- 72.5k
31
votes
Accepted
Did firing trials of pre-WW1 British dreadnoughts involve actually firing at them?
No, firing trials of pre-WW1 British Dreadnoughts didn't actually involve firing at them.
The HMS Hero trial mentioned in the Wikipedia article was part of a series of live firing trials carried out ...
- 77.2k
31
votes
What was the pound (unit of weight) initially equal to?
However, in the case of the pound, it is not clear what it originally was equivalent to.
I think you're going to find that there is no known meaningful answer to this question, just a deep rabbit ...
- 946
31
votes
Did a British civilian row across the channel and shoot 6 Luftwaffe pilots?
This sounds a bit like an embellished version of the story of Peter King
"King joined the Dental Corps in March 1939 and served as a non-technician, excelling as a weapons instructor. He spent ...
- 411
30
votes
Accepted
Which general rebuked the King of England over logistics?
This is a famous if apocryphal letter, traditionally attributed to Wellington during the Peninsular War, though I wouldn't be surprised if a variant floating around transposed it to America a ...
- 9,112
27
votes
Accepted
Why did Robert Walpole get painted with a crown on his right side?
The painting shows Robert Walpole in his full regalia as First Earl of Orford. The "crown" is not, in fact technically a crown, but rather a coronet, which forms part of that regalia.
The ...
- 77.2k
21
votes
Has a hereditary peer ever been promoted or demoted to a higher or lower rank?
Yes to the first.
Examples: the 1st Marquess of Montrose had inherited the title of Earl of Montrose from his father. The 4th Earl of Devonshire was made a Duke for his support of William III in the '...
- 458
20
votes
Which four countries were the Teutonic coalition?
The full context of the quote makes it clearer:
In the summer of 1919, the Allied armies stood along the Rhine, and their bridgeheads bulged deeply into defeated, disarmed, and hungry Germany. The ...
- 14.1k
19
votes
Has a hereditary peer ever been promoted or demoted to a higher or lower rank?
Someone who illustrates both aspects of the question is Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford who as an adviser to Charles I, progressed from Baronet, through Baron, Viscount and Earl, to being ...
- 32k
18
votes
Accepted
Why is the heir to the British throne called "Prince of Wales"?
Short and Simple answer (actually, it's not so simple...)
The granting of the title 'Prince of Wales' by Edward I to his son (the future Edward II) was a demonstration of his authority over Wales and ...
- 108k
16
votes
Accepted
What did it mean to be a Grecian in late-18th Century British schools?
From the 1928 OED:
Grecian:
....
2. One learned in the Greek language; a Greek scholar. [Attestations omitted]
b. A boy in the highest class of Christ's Hospital (the Blue-coat school).
Blue-Coat:
...
- 72.5k
15
votes
Why didn't colonial empires exchange their colonies with others empire to make their territories whole?
The shorthand answer is that the age of colonial empires was not a board game where each empire has a a strategy, and there's a way of scoring a winner. Empires -- like everything human -- were ...
- 8,172
13
votes
Accepted
When in September 1939 did the British diplomatic mission leave Warsaw?
The ambassador most likely left Poland for Romania by about noon on Sept. 17, 1939, within a few hours of the Soviet invasion that morning, having already left Warsaw for Kuty in preparation for just ...
- 72.5k
13
votes
Accepted
Based on his service record, where was this soldier deployed in WW2?
The 208th (SP) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery is listed on the Order of Battle for the 59 AGRA (Army Group Royal Artillery) as of May 18, 1945. It's HQ staff departed Liverpool on 28 March, 1945, ...
- 72.5k
13
votes
Was it possible for a young Japanese woman to end up enslaved in Great Britain in the mid-1600s?
1: Could there have been young Japanese women in Great Britain in the mid-1600s?
This seems extraordinarily unlikely.
According to the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan
1600 William Adams, a ...
- 3,177
13
votes
How did the United Kingdom government come to be responsible for defence of the Channel Islands?
I'm afraid you're chasing a chimera. The answer really is there in the Wikipedia article on the Channel Islands, although perhaps it requires a bit of unpacking. And some details are scattered among ...
- 5,400
13
votes
Why were medium bombers so low in numbers in Allied air forces?
The US produced 16,028 medium bombers (e.g., B-25, RB-25, PBJ, B-26, RB-26, TB-26, JM, B-34, RB-34, PV, B-23, RB-37) plus 13,651 what were termed “Light Bombers” of the twin engine variety (e.g., A-20,...
- 5,266
11
votes
What were the motivating factors in the Scottish Highland Clearances?
The motivating factors that led to the Highland Clearances are manifold and complex. The roots of the clearances lay mainly in the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion in which the highland levies ...
- 77.2k
11
votes
Accepted
Why were some Napoleonic battles fought at sea?
By the time of the Napoleonic Wars, most of the European nations had overseas empires and trade missions. International commerce was reliant on sea transport (and even what was essentially 'internal' ...
- 19.8k
11
votes
Accepted
When did Dei gratia/fidi defensor first appear on British coins?
On British coinage:
The title Fidei Defensor abbreviated to F.D. (Defender of the Faith)
occurs for the first time on the British coinage under George I.
The earliest example is from the very ...
- 108k
11
votes
When and why did blue become the colour of the British Conservative Party?
Short answer
Blue was adopted by some Tories (later to become formally known as Conservatives) from around the middle of the 18th century. Before that (from around 1680) it was used mostly by Whigs. ...
- 108k
10
votes
Did Britain bill Poland for maintaining Polish Air Force that fought over Britain?
It appears this war debt was partially voided.
The Government of The United Kingdom will make no claim for replayment
of the Ł 73 million sterling, in respect of amounts spent on war
material, ...
10
votes
Accepted
What was the perception of the average British person of the Boston Tea Party?
On the events of the 16th of December 1773 in Boston Harbor, the Boston Tea Party Historical Society article British View vs. American View, states that the incident was
Scarcely noted in the ...
- 108k
10
votes
Accepted
What were the Lines of Ne Plus Ultra in the War of the Spanish Succession?
In one sense, it might be better to say that Marlborough "bypassed", rather than "defeated", the Lines of Ne Plus Ultra. The following quote is from the 2011 biography of Marlborough by Angus Konstam:
...
- 77.2k
10
votes
Accepted
Is George Louis known to have considered the assumption of a different regnal name in Great Britain?
Short answer
It's hard to prove an absence of evidence, but there are good reasons why George I might not have considered changing his name: it was a common given name in George's family, and then ...
- 108k
10
votes
Accepted
Which British town or city is recorded in this 1890's YouTube video?
London
The movie 'scene' in question (alternative YouTube video) was an entire early short film — 39 seconds long — and is titled simply (as on Wikipedia here) "A Switchback Railway" from ...
- 80.8k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible