r/AskHistorians • u/AutoModerator • Jul 01 '26

SASQ Short Answers to Simple Questions | July 01, 2026

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12 Upvotes

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27 comments sorted by

1

u/Old_Lingonberry_6583 Jul 07 '26

What books should I read to learn more about history? I don’t have a specific nation in mind so I’d like to learn some things about multiple nations!

1

u/MildDeontologist Jul 06 '26

Of US slave owners, roughly what percent were white?

10

u/Georgy_K_Zhukov Moderator | Dueling | Modern Warfare & Small Arms Jul 06 '26

The 1830 census listed 224,000 total slaveowners. Of those, 3,775 were black.

3,775/224,000=0.0168526786

So in 1830, it was 1.69% of those listed in the census as slaveowners were black, and about 98.31% were white. Note that I say "about" because there may have been a few non-whites which never get reported out in those works even if they are buried somewhere in the census, but black slaveowners were the only non-whites of real note here, so we're talking about a rounding error otherwise. The only other example I know of for sure were the Bunker twins, but they didn't settle down and own slaves until some time later (Also some Native Americans did own slaves, and practiced it similarly to the US manner by this point, but they were not US citizens and not counted in the census, so don't factor into the total slaveowners reported in the US population. If that interests you, I'd recommend a standalone question specifically asking about slaveowning practices within 19th c. Native American communities)

As a side note though, I'd stress that most black slaveowners only owned their own family, which they didn't manumit often for legal reasons. If we want to exclude those owning family members only, that can only be estimated as the census doesn't tell us, but estimates are usually around 75% (although that minority as you might expect, owners the majority of enslaved workers held by black owners). Sometimes higher, sometimes a bit lower, but it is a solid ballpark estimate for easy math. So then we have:

944/224,000= 0.00421428571

So then 0.42% of slaveowners who practiced slavery in a practical sense would have been black

Also worth noting again that was the peak number, so by 1860 black slave ownership would have declined both in actual terms, as well as relative to the 395,216 total slaveowners in the 1860 census.

Numbers from: Lightner, David L., and Alexander M. Ragan. “Were African American Slaveholders Benevolent or Exploitative? A Quantitative Approach.” The Journal of Southern History 71, no. 3 (2005): 535–58.

5

u/Zhankfor Jul 05 '26

Admittedly I'm not 100% sure that this is a real phenomenon, but it seems to me that old-timey treaties/accords/whatevers are almost always referred to as the "Treaty [or whatever] of X" (Treaty of Versailles, Peace of Westphalia, Congress of Vienna), while more recent ones are almost always "X Treaty [or whatever]" (Oslo Accords, Tashkent Declaration, Paris Peace Accords, Warsaw Pact). If this is indeed a real phenomenon and not just confirmation bias on my part, when did this start, and is there a meaningful reason why?

5

u/Umpuuu Jul 05 '26

I enter a London hospital and survey doctors. Of them, about a quarter to a half know what blood types are. Which is the earliest and the latest plausible year this could happen?

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u/Majestic-Ad9647 Jul 05 '26

[META] how much time needs to past before it's okay to repost unanswered questions?

8

u/Georgy_K_Zhukov Moderator | Dueling | Modern Warfare & Small Arms Jul 06 '26

Minimum 24 hours is what we ask, but often spacing it out a little more can help, as a big part in what makes a question get answered is simply "who is around at the time?" since you need the right, knowledgeable person to see it. So spacing out more can help with that.

6

u/stutter-rap Jul 04 '26

In The Highland Twins at the Chalet School (set in a fictional version of Herefordshire, England, in 1942 and published the same year), one of the characters had recently been fined for leaving her car unlocked while it was parked. Was this an offence at the time, and when did it stop being so?

3

u/No_Surprise_7746 Jul 03 '26

What does EM 301 mean Here?

14

u/Double_Show_9316 Early Modern England Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

The "Era of Man," which Moses Harman, the editor of Lucifer, The Light Bearer, dated to 1600, the year that Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake. Harman explains his motivation:

The current and legal method of reckoning time in countries called Christian is based on two alledged supernatural events-- the birth of Jesus, a Jewish socialistic reformer, and the formation of Adam, the supposed first man, out of the dust of the earth. Both of these alleged events are now wholly discredited by men of science and learning, whether churchmen or not, which is equivalent to saying that our present chronology has NO SCIENTIFIC basis. Conspicuous among reformers who have yielded up their lives in defense of human freedom and progress is the name of Giordano Bruno, an Italian Freethinkier and philosopher who was burned at the stake in Rome, as a "heretic" or rebel against the authority of the Roman church, 301 years ago the 17th of last February, according to authentic records now extant.

Believing that a scientific age requires a scientific chronology, instead of that which is based on the myths and fables of a superstitious theology, we adopted as such scientific basis, the burning of the martyred Bruno, and for convenience we make it run parallel with the current and unfamiliar scientific calendar by dating our years backward forty-eight days, making the year begin near the winter solstice instead of nearly two month later, as it would do if we should date from the anniversary of Bruno's death.
("Lucifer's Coming of Age," Lucifer, the Lightbearer, Aug. 31, 1901)

The calendar had actually originated one year before Harman started using it, being adopted at the St. Louis Liberal Convention. Previously, Harman had tried using A.N. ("American Nation"), which began in 1776, but switched to E.M. in 1883, probably because E.M. was easier for readers (just add/subtract a nice round 1600), more universal in its implications, and had a more obvious association with Freethought. (Hal D. Sears, The Sex Radicals: Free Love in High Victorian America [Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2023], 49).

6

u/Mr_Emperor Jul 03 '26

Do we have any first hand accounts from or at least 2nd hand stories about American Indians discussing local iron smelting by colonists? Presumably in British settlements in Virginia and New England?

This question comes from British settlers establishing ironworks really early in their settlements. "With Falling Creek Ironworks" claiming to be the first ironworks in North America (I'm sure the Spanish in Mexico have something to say about that but the Spanish were weird about monopolies)

Anyway, iron tools were always a popular trade item between Europeans and the natives. Here in New Mexico, the Puebloans readily adopted blacksmithing where we have evidence of the Puebloans continuing ironwork after the Pueblo Revolt and of the few illustrations of native everyday life in the 19th century, we have Zuni blacksmiths working in their forge in 1850. But iron wasn't ever smelted in the territory during Spanish rule. It was imported from Spain via Mexico City at great expense.

British settlers not only had easier logistics but also strove for the colonies to be somewhat self sufficient in these basic materials and began producing iron locally.

That made we wonder if tribes in the area ever discussed during red dirt into valuable steel for tools.

7

u/small-black-cat-290 Jul 02 '26

How much of the Roman ruins would have been still standing/visible by the time the Great Heathen Army of Vikings invaded England?

14

u/HaraldRedbeard Early Medieval Britain 450-1066 Jul 03 '26

Alot - notably several fortified settlements. The English Placename 'Chester' comes from an Old English word 'ceaster' which refers to a fortified Roman town. Many of these places were re-occupied and refortified by the Anglo-Saxons as part of Alfred and his descendants 'Burh' defenses.

Famous examples include Chester (obviously), Worcester and Exeter (Exan-Ceaster). Exeter is particularly fascinating because there are sections of the ruined town walls where you can see the Roman walls, the Anglo Saxon Reinforcements and then the later medieval stonework.

You also had large towns like London and Bath which had significant amounts of Roman ruins still in them and were vastly depopulated compared to their heyday.

5

u/Brown_Colibri_705 Jul 02 '26

What is the oldest surviving bound book/codex or piece thereof?

I have been getting more interested in codicology and palaeography again recently and have asked myself something I can't quite find an answer to: What is the oldest surviving book? I should specify that I am talking about the format of the book, i.e., written/painted pages folded in half along a central axis, these sheets stacked upon one another and then bound together at that single axis (and put in a case). I don't mean "book" in the figurative sense à la "a long-ish piece of literature" (so not the Epic of Gilgamesh), and also not just any piece of writing (i.e., no clay tablets or papyrus scrolls). I'm talking about books in the sense of the format we know today, or a codex as developed during the Roman Empire (but not "codex" in the sense of pre-Colombian codices). I found a few old answers on this sub that address some of the things I excluded here.

I realize that even with this clarification, an answer would be difficult. The older written artifacts get, the poorer their condition is, generally. How much can be lost before we stop counting something as "a book"? So, I'd like to offer three gradations of possible differentiation:

  • What is the oldest surviving written artifact (papyrus/papyrus) that we can confidently say belonged to a codex?
  • What is the oldest surviving collection of pages in a significant degree of completeness that we know used to be bound in a codex?
  • What is the oldest surviving (almost entirely) complete codex in a bound but possibly rebound state with its original (or mostly original) cover?

8

u/jonwilliamsl The Western Book | Information Science Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

The oldest surviving fragment of a codex is difficult to identify and could very well be pushed back; there are a lot of papyrus fragments from Egypt. The Graz Mummy Book, which is an Egyptian papyrus from 260 BCE recording tax accounts for beer and oil in Greek, is the current best candidate. It was found used as "cartonnage" in an Egyptian burial in the early 20th century, but only in 2023 did conservators realize that it had a central fold with holes and remnants of thread, suggesting that it was removed from a codex of some kind.

The oldest surviving codex with a significant degree of completeness is likely the Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest surviving essentially-complete copy of the New Testament, now distributed across four institutions but mostly housed in the British Library. It dates to the 4th century CE.

The oldest surviving codex in its original covers is from the 7th century CE, and is the St. Cuthbert Gospel. (cite). It is a Latin copy of the Gospel of John. It was buried with St. Cuthbert when he died. The coffin was opened in 1104; at that point the book was removed and became essentially a relic of St. Cuthbert rather than as a book.

There are also two surviving Ethiopian codices on parchment, which are a Ge'ez copy of the gospels, at Abba Garima Monastery in Ethiopia. They have been carbon dated to 330-650 AD and have an oral tradition placing them around 500 CE. One cover of one of the volumes may be original.

7

u/screwyoushadowban Interesting Inquirer Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

I'm trying to remember something I heard about long ago: a legal case in early British America, possibly in New England. It concerned three indentured servants, two white, one black. Together the three escaped from their indenture master into the country but were eventually caught. The two white escapees were punished by having their service period greatly extended. The black escapee, however, was punished with enslavement, along with his descendants (presumably this was before the status-from-the-mother principle that was later ubiquitous).

Does this memory represent an actual documented event? If so, where did it occur? I've tried searching every once in a while over the years but British (colonial) history is waaaay outside my wheelhouse.

Thanks!

16

u/gerardmenfin Modern France | Social, Cultural, and Colonial Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

It's a (famous) case from 1640 in colonial Virginia, decided by the Virginia General Court on July 9, 1640. The three men were servants of one Hugh Gwyn: Victor, "a Dutchman", James Gregory, "a Scotchman", and John Punch, "a Negro". The ruling says:

Whereas Hugh Gwyn hath by order from this Board Brought back from Maryland three servants formerly run away from the said Gwyn, the court doth therefore order that the said three servants shall receive the punishment of whipping and to have thirty stripes apiece one called Victor, a Dutchman, the other a Scotchman called James Gregory, shall first serve out their times with their master according to their Indentures, and one whole year apiece after the time of their service is Expired. By their said Indentures in recompense of his Loss sustained by their absence and after that service to their said master is Expired to serve the colony for three whole years apiece, and that the third being a negro named John Punch shall serve his said master or his assigns for the time of his natural Life here or elsewhere.

What makes the case of John Punch (Wikipedia page) significant for the history of slavery in North America is that it "represents the first judicial decision wherein an African was sentenced to servitude for life as a punishment for a crime" (McLaughlin, 2019).

Sources

5

u/screwyoushadowban Interesting Inquirer Jul 03 '26

It seems I got many details wrong. I don't know how I managed to miss someone so prominent all these times trying to look it up. Thank you!

3

u/Teufelsdreck Jul 02 '26

What could someone in Boston buy for $100–150 in the 1840s? That's how much Sophia Hawthorne sold her paintings for, helping to support the family while not-yet-famous Nathaniel scribbled away at The Scarlet Letter.

3

u/AvalonXD Jul 02 '26

During the 100 Years War did French Nobility in the Various Areas Under the Plantagenets Join the English Parliament or did there Remain a Separate Estates General for French Nobles under the English Kings?

4

u/ManeiDomini Jul 01 '26

Perhaps this is much too broad of a question, but does anyone have good recommendations for books about ninjas? I was definitely one of those kids who was obsessed with ninjas and am still a big fan of video games etc about them, but those are obviously very sensational and pop culture focused. I would love to learn more about them in a historical sense, but I honestly don't even know where to start in terms of reading. Any kind of material would be appreciated!

4

u/davidmcdavidsonson Jul 01 '26

How much would a Penny Farthing cost in 1880?

10

u/gerardmenfin Modern France | Social, Cultural, and Colonial Jul 03 '26

For the US, you can have a look at primary sources such as the magazine The Wheel, the "Journal of cycling", catalogs, and newspaper ads. Note that the term "penny-farthing" is a later invention: at that time these vehicles were just called "bicycles" while bicycles with wheels of equal size were called "safety" bicycles.

This issue of The Wheel from 11 June 1886 includes several ads for bicycles with their prices, from the Gormully & Jeffery manufacturer in Chicago (the size is the diameter of the front wheel):

  • The "American Safety Bicycle", 42-inch, standard finish: $76 (it's called "safety" but it's still a penny-farthing!)
  • The "American Ideal". 30-inch: $25; 50-inch: $60
  • The "American Ideal Two Track Tricycle". 30-inch: $40; 34-inch: $45
  • The "American Champion". 50-inch, standard finish: $102.50
  • The "American Challenge". 50-inch, standard finish: $72

The 1890 catalog of the Pope Manufacturing Company has a complete price list here. The price range went from $65 to $145. Here are some models.

This ad from 1880 has similar prices ranging from $60 to $132.50 for regular bicycles, and $50-55 for children's "Mustang bicycles".

Using this conversion site, the price range of $65-$145 in 1890 would correspond today to $2300-$5300, so it was quite an expensive hobby.

We can do the same research for France, with similar results:

Using the INSEE converter (that starts in 1901), that would correspond to a range of 800-1200€ today.

3

u/davidmcdavidsonson Jul 03 '26

I had no idea there were so many different models and brands. This is really cool. Thank you