Historian Answers Revolutions Questions
What is a revolution?
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Collections: A Trip Through Thucydides (Fear, Honor and Interest) – A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
State craft in old Greece. “Consider modern nuclear deterrence theory as an extreme example – deterrence is maintained not by launching nuclear weapons, nor by being willing to to do, but by the belief of other states that you will… Read More »Collections: A Trip Through Thucydides (Fear, Honor and Interest) – A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
Collections: Iron, How Did They Make It, Part IVa: Steel Yourself
Experimental knowledge is important and not to be dismissed. “That said, our ancient – or even medieval – smiths do not understand the chemistry of all of this, of course. Understanding the effects of carbuzation and how to harness that… Read More »Collections: Iron, How Did They Make It, Part IVa: Steel Yourself
Collections: Iron, How Did They Make It, Part III: Hammer-time
This is why it is good that nowadays you can quit your job and start elsewhere instead of waiting for promotion. “Apprentices, of course, were proper blacksmiths in training and might one day look to be as well respected as… Read More »Collections: Iron, How Did They Make It, Part III: Hammer-time
Collections: Iron, How Did They Make It? Part I, Mining
Iron is not hard to get as most people think. “One of the reasons that the change from using bronze (or copper) as tool metals to using iron was so important historically is that iron is just so damn abundant.… Read More »Collections: Iron, How Did They Make It? Part I, Mining
Collections: Bread, How Did They Make It? Addendum: Rice!
Inference crops lead to different incentives and different outcomes for societies. “the high productivity of rice production meant that labor was relatively abundant in the countryside, as households could subsist on much smaller farmers. But this in turn seems to… Read More »Collections: Bread, How Did They Make It? Addendum: Rice!
Collections: Bread, How Did They Make It? Part IV: Markets, Merchants and the Tax Man
Just use boats. This is also true today. “when it comes to moving large volumes, the sea changes everything. The fundamental problem with transporting food on land is that the energy to transport the food must come from food, either… Read More »Collections: Bread, How Did They Make It? Part IV: Markets, Merchants and the Tax Man
Collections: Bread, How Did They Make It? Part IV: Markets, Merchants and the Tax Man
Being a merchant in the past was not prestigious. “For the farmers who need to sell their crops (for reasons we will get to in a moment) and purchase the things they need that they cannot produce, the merchant feels… Read More »Collections: Bread, How Did They Make It? Part IV: Markets, Merchants and the Tax Man
Collections: Bread, How Did they Make it? Part III: Actually Farming
Getting bread was not fun. “Being thus sent in pistrinum was essentially a deferred death sentence, much like being sent to work in mining. Consequently, in large, muscle-powered mills, the fellows actually turning the millstone were likely to be captives,… Read More »Collections: Bread, How Did they Make it? Part III: Actually Farming
Collections: Bread, How Did They Make It? Part II: Big Farms
Water is expensive. Especially when you are poor. “Apart from land – which was actually not a major limiting factor in the village – the main forms of agricultural capital were ox plow-teams (something I’d expect) and wells (something I… Read More »Collections: Bread, How Did They Make It? Part II: Big Farms