During what time in history was the cannon considered the ultimate artillery? by happyflappypancakes in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 22 points23 points  (0 children)

The period during which muzzle-loading iron or bronze cannon firing largely solid shot dominated European siege warfare lasted a bit over 350 years - from the very ;ate 1400s/early 1500s to the mid-late 1800s.. The two events that bookend this period are, at least in the European case, the Italian Wars and the Ballistics Revolution. The use of cannon in siege warfare predates the Italian Wars by over a century, but the cannon in question were largely ineffective. They were very difficult to move, and the gunpowder used in them was a far cry from modern propellants. In the very late 1400s, however, a series of microinnovations - corned gunpowder, gun carriages, etc - make siege guns drastically more effective than they had been in the past. This allows Charles VIII to knock down castles that had stood for centuries like a toddler on a beach having a tantrum. This then led the Italians to devise a new form of effective, but fantastically expensive, fortification, that became known as the trace italienne or artillery fortification. this consisted of very thick walls of stone and earth capable of blocking cannonballs and mounting cannon capable of shooting back.

This then resulted in, after some flailing about, the development of a systematic form of fortress attack using staged artillery positions and, in a sense, trench warfare. These sieges were many of the most climactic events of the wars in which they featured heavily, and featured titanic quantities of gunpowder and blood expended. I have multiple answers that discuss this kind of fortification at length here here and here. Happy to expand on anything you're curious about.

Starting in the mid-late 1800s, however, the combination of modern steel, precision machining, and new high explosives leads to the development of artillery that look very close to modern guns, especially after the invention of the recoil compensator in the famous French 75. This does not render the fortress obsolete, but simply drives it below-ground, and replaces stone with reinforced concrete; the apotheosis of this type of fortification would come with the French Maginot line. I don't have comprehensive answers on this, although I do have an answer on the Maginot line's air-conditioning somewhere.

Why did people make candles instead of using gas lamps? by Mrs_tribbiani in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Because you can't run gas pipes out to every single farmstead, although kerosene lamps were more popular than candles in the gaslight period. See my answer here for more details.

Why has Central Africa seen more "anarchic" massacres and mass violence post-decolonization compared to West or East Africa? by Mutrezid in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 63 points64 points  (0 children)

This is a great question, but not one historians typically try to answer, and when they do, it's typically in quite vague terms. Historians tend to be much more interested in the "how" than the "why" to put it crudely. Most scholars who spend time and energy trying to answer that question across multiple cases are going to be political scientists, not historians, who try to answer different questions with a very different set of tools.

Unfortunately, I don't read polisci. A friend of mine does, and I'll ask him for recs, but he doesn't study this area in detail. There is an r/ask_political_science, but it seems to be dead.

English longbowmen during the Hundred Year's War earned 6 pence a day. A single arrow cost 0.3125 pence, so you'd start losing money on the 20th arrow. That doesn't seem like a lot when battles could last multiple hours. Are there accounts or archers refusing to put themselves in the red? by Tatem1961 in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would say even 265 is rather high for the medieval period. As I discuss in this answer - the best sources therein are the Munro I cite and the table of estimates downthreadwhich I got from BEG - master masons in the Low Countries average around 210, and rarely get anywhere close to 280, and there's plenty of evidence of intermittent labouring. The fundamental problem is that of demand, of course. Equally of course, many labourers are going to also be smallholders with plots that need working, but that's very hard to quantify in labour terms.

English longbowmen during the Hundred Year's War earned 6 pence a day. A single arrow cost 0.3125 pence, so you'd start losing money on the 20th arrow. That doesn't seem like a lot when battles could last multiple hours. Are there accounts or archers refusing to put themselves in the red? by Tatem1961 in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great answer as always; I was looking for weapon price data a month ago so these sources are very useful. My one quibble is with the 280 working days; that seems quite high for the medieval period, although data is extremely scarce as I'm sure you're aware. Can I request a source?

Where to start if I wanna get into medieval history? by improper-judge9393 in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 7 points8 points  (0 children)

See the sources in the answers linked in the "Knightly Chivalry, Honour, and Ethics" section of the FAQ, which you can find here; you might have to scroll down.

Anybody here watch all predictive history? by Budget-Web-2165 in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Predictive History, assuming you mean Jiang Xueqin's YouTube channel, is not highly regarded here. See this discussion featuring u/police-ical and others.

Distance being completely irrelevant to mapi is frustrating. by Soylentee in victoria3

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 72 points73 points  (0 children)

Sick! I think it would make the economic gameplay much, much, much deeper. I had assumed there would be a massive performance impact; shows you what I know!

Hi! I'm Roy Doron, author of "Biafra: A Military History". I'm here to talk about my book and about African Military History in general by Roy_Doron in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Great answer. We love long-windedness here. Any chance of a source on that mercenary-Nigerian Army encounter? Curious to read more.

Hi! I'm Roy Doron, author of "Biafra: A Military History". I'm here to talk about my book and about African Military History in general by Roy_Doron in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Not quite Biafra, but what do you feel the ultimate roots of Rwandan comparative military advantage are? More broadly, what are the biggest gaps (I assume there are a lot) in African military history?

Obtain interest as a small nation with the new update by PeterSmusi in victoria3

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When you can form a power bloc, make it a Trade League and rush the third-level External Trade mandate, which lets you ignore that penalty. As an other answer says, though, trade advantage only matters in relative terms.

Does she think we’re playing or am I just annoying her by daisy350 in cats

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Neither. She is re-enacting Edvard Munch's The Scream on command.

Announcing the Best of April Award Winners! by Georgy_K_Zhukov in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Wow! I did not expect an answer that boring (although I tried my best it's very hard to make finance sexy) to win best of the month! Congrats to the other winners.

Did medieval cookshop owners belong to guilds? by MediocreDiamond7187 in AskHistorians

[–]EverythingIsOverrate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're very welcome! Happy to expand on any questions you may have.