World History Thread

[Roamy]

Hi
I am just making a scratch pad for janvanvurpa.

Gee lets start with shipbuilding from the yards where the nina, pinta and santa maria where constructed. :p

[Roamy]

Hey where is JanVan he is not showing up for his own thread of honor.

maybe I should have named it "Ask JanVan"

pleasse ask JanVan a question here:

[Roamy]

See I put a thread in here for the World's Historian. But does he come - No because he has no points to make.. He just comes on trying to tear into people he doesn't like. Where is all the Hitler, Rommel, tanks with two guns.
Nothing to say. I guess we have the historian counter puncher.

[GridGirl]

Probably because you will no doubt post something anti islamic as soon as someone replied. If it was actually going to be a history thread it might actually be interesting.

[Roamy]

start it out Grid Girl GO

[Mark]

I've been watching a lot of programmes about Romans recently. Especially with regard to their invasion of Britain.

Now, were the Romans really as they seem and about 1,000 years ahead of their time, or did they just appear to us to be that way?

They certainly had a lot of technology, but I think their record on slavery leaves a lot to be desired if we are going to call them civilsed.

[Camelopard]

Probably because you will no doubt post something anti islamic as soon as someone replied. If it was actually going to be a history thread it might actually be interesting.

Come on Fousto, you showed us previously how little you know about African history, enlighten us with what you know (or don't know as the case may be) about World history.















Should be a very short thread, :) :p : :confused: :vader: :rolleyes:

[Mark in Oshawa]

I've been watching a lot of programmes about Romans recently. Especially with regard to their invasion of Britain.

Now, were the Romans really as they seem and about 1,000 years ahead of their time, or did they just appear to us to be that way?

They certainly had a lot of technology, but I think their record on slavery leaves a lot to be desired if we are going to call them civilsed.

Technologically advanced.....that is different than advanced in Human rights. Heck....human rights never improved past this until the 18th century or so when countries started to outlaw slavery. The US were advanced in everything BUT this until they disembowled themselves for 4 years with a civil war, and even then the blacks didn't get their full rights. That sad fact is compounded by the fact many in the south knew sooner or later it had to end, and Thomas Jefferson of all people knew slavery was wrong but didn't know how to propose ending it without killing the economy. Took a nasty civil war to end that....

[Brown, Jon Brow]

How close were the Romans to having a 'steam revolution' ? I've heard before that they had the technology but nobody thought to use it for industry. Is this true or is it just a myth? Also, what would the world today be like if the 'steam revolution had been 1700 years earlier than it was?

[Rollo]

The first cherry trees in North America were planted by a Presbyterian missionary named Peter Dougherty who planted an orchard north of Traverse City, Michigan in 1852; and the National Cherry Festival is still held there every year.

Thus the claim that George Washington said "I can not tell a lie, I cut down the cherry tree with my little hatchet" is pure crap. After all, how is it technically possible for a young George Washington to cut down a tree nearly a century before they existed in North America?

[Alexamateo]

The first cherry trees in North America were planted by a Presbyterian missionary named Peter Dougherty who planted an orchard north of Traverse City, Michigan in 1852; and the National Cherry Festival is still held there every year.

Thus the claim that George Washington said "I can not tell a lie, I cut down the cherry tree with my little hatchet" is pure crap. After all, how is it technically possible for a young George Washington to cut down a tree nearly a century before they existed in North America?

As a horticuturalist, I can assure you cherries have existed in the US since the very first settlers started arriving here en masse in the 1600's. Michael Dirr's Manual of Woody Landscape Plants refers to cherries being introduced in 1629. Commercial cherry production started sometime in the 1800's, perhaps that is what the festival is referring to.

[Roamy]

The first cherry trees in North America were planted by a Presbyterian missionary named Peter Dougherty who planted an orchard north of Traverse City, Michigan in 1852; and the National Cherry Festival is still held there every year.

Thus the claim that George Washington said "I can not tell a lie, I cut down the cherry tree with my little hatchet" is pure crap. After all, how is it technically possible for a young George Washington to cut down a tree nearly a century before they existed in North America?

And therefore the liars have a noted beginning :p

[Roamy]

As a horticuturalist, I can assure you cherries have existed in the US since the very first settlers started arriving here en masse in the 1600's. Michael Dirr's Manual of Woody Landscape Plants refers to cherries being introduced in 1629. Commercial cherry production started sometime in the 1800's, perhaps that is what the festival is referring to.

So who is "Bing"

[Mark]

How close were the Romans to having a 'steam revolution' ? I've heard before that they had the technology but nobody thought to use it for industry. Is this true or is it just a myth? Also, what would the world today be like if the 'steam revolution had been 1700 years earlier than it was?

It's thought that they had the idea that it could work. But didn't have the technology, in terms of valves and seals etc and the knowhow to make it work. Plus if they needed manual effort they worked their slaves to death instead.

Indeed the modern steam revolution only came about because of the development of rubber seals etc which allowed much higher pressures to be maintained than the original atmospheric engines could use.

Did the Romans have coal? Sure they could burn wood but if you are talking about an industrial country powered by steam you'd quite quickly exhaust your supply of trees, it's only the combination of coal and steam technology that allows it all to work.

So I think the Romans were a fair way from developing steam power as we understand it. However the world quite possibly could have been a very different place if they had. No doubt Roman influence would have spread even further. Imagine them being able to transport their troops by train instead of walking.

It does seem that we had an explosion of (so called) civilisation around the ancient Greek and Roman times, then we fell back into dark ages, and middle ages and it was a good 1500 years before we'd brought ourselves up to the same level of sophisitication again.

PS. It's easy to think of steam power as something which is of the past, which has now been replaced by oil and electricity. But of course that's not true at all. All the electricty from conventional power stations e.g. coal, gas, nuclear, comes via way of steam turbines.

[Alexamateo]

So who is "Bing"

A new search engine by Microsoft?

The Singer of White Christmas?

If there is a plantsman by the name of Bing, I am not aware of it.