Small OTL History Questions thread (Before 1900)

[KingByng]

Originally Posted by Zuvarq

Though I think the US bought Alaska to increase chances of getting British Columbia.

Seward had this hairbrained idea that having Alaska would pressure BC into joining that republic. BC instead joined Canada. Pretty much the only people in BC who wanted Yankee annexation were the Yanks that came for the gold, but they were denied political rights and most left when the gold rushes ended.

[Shtudmuffin]

I've read in multiple places that in the late 1860s the southern German states sided with the Northern Confederation when Napoleon III began calling for France to retake the Rhineland. When and why did he do this?

[Petike]

This is peculiar, but why does Ireland lack some fairly common animal species, such as snakes ? They have lived on Great Britain for a very long time, so why didn't they migrate to Ireland as well ?

And why is the mountain hare native to Ireland when it never lived anywhere else on the British Isles, nor the closest parts of western Europe ? Is it an ice age relict like the isolated populations of Alpine and Carpathian marmots and chamois ?

[Zuvarq]

Originally Posted by Petike

This is peculiar, but why does Ireland lack some fairly common animal species, such as snakes ? They have lived on Great Britain for a very long time, so why didn't they migrate to Ireland as well ?

Because St. Patrick banished them all. Duh.

The reason there are no snakes is a combination of the fact that they'd have to cross the open ocean to get to Ireland, and the fact that Ireland is pretty cold.

[Tocomocho]

Originally Posted by Petike

This is peculiar, but why does Ireland lack some fairly common animal species, such as snakes ? They have lived on Great Britain for a very long time, so why didn't they migrate to Ireland as well ?

Because of the ice ages. During the ice ages most of the British Isles were covered in glaciers and were thus too cold for reptiles. After the glaciers retreated, the snakes spread to the north, but since the Irish Sea formed before the English Channel, the snakes were able to (re)colonize Britain, but not Ireland.

And why is the mountain hare native to Ireland when it never lived anywhere else on the British Isles, nor the closest parts of western Europe ? Is it an ice age relict like the isolated populations of Alpine and Carpathian marmots and chamois ?

Precisely. Doesn't it also live in Scotland, though?

[Petike]

Originally Posted by Tocomocho

Precisely. Doesn't it also live in Scotland, though?

AFAIK, it was additionally introduced there, as well as some parts of western England and Wales. So, until the humans brought brown and mountain hares and common rabbits to Great Britain, it was probably bunnyless for several millennia.

And yes, I've searched for the answer on the snake question and it looks like there was never a sufficient land bridge after the last ice age for the snakes to make it into Ireland. Never that big or long-lived to support a slow snake migration, unlike the land bridge to Britain. There aren't even fossils of snakes in Ireland. The only thing vaguely close to a snake in Ireland are the introduced blindworms (those brown, snake-like lizards) in one tiny area of western Ireland, where they inhabit old quarries and generally drier areas.

[Shtudmuffin]

What was Spain's industrial strength relative to France and Britain in the 1860s-1870s?

[Shtudmuffin]

Originally Posted by Shtudmuffin

What was Spain's industrial strength relative to France and Britain in the 1860s-1870s?

Anyone? I need this for a TL.

[TheNordicBrit]

1. How many troops, if any, did Bismark keep along the Prusso-Austrian border during the Franco-Prussian War.

2. How troops did the Austrian allies have during the Austro-Prussian War?

3. What was the size of the Austrian army during the time of the Franco-Prussian War?

[Bexar]

What were Stephen F. Austin's views on the annexation of Texas by the United States?

[Mikestone8]

Originally Posted by TheNordicBrit

1. How many troops, if any, did Bismark keep along the Prusso-Austrian border during the Franco-Prussian War.

Can't swear, but Istr reading that it was about 75,000

2. How troops did the Austrian allies have during the Austro-Prussian War?

If I remember my Geoffrey Wawro correctly, about 150,000 in total. However, only the Saxon army (abt 25,000) actually joined forces with the Austrians. The others all "did their own thing" and were mopped up piecemeal by the Prussians. Some, like Baden and Wurttemburg, never got into action at all, arriving only in time for the armistice.

3. What was the size of the Austrian army during the time of the Franco-Prussian War?

Not sure, but having just introduced conscription in 186i8 t was probably bigger than in '66 but even more poorly organised.

[Shtudmuffin]

Is Vladivostok a year-round warm-water port? I read its Wikipedia article, but the article doesn't even touch on the subject.

[willbell]

How big was the army of Bardyllis when he marched on Epirus? I know he had 2000 Sicilian Greeks with him but how many warriors did he have in total? It must have been fairly big considering he killed 15,000 Epirotes.

[Gosing]

Just want to confirm something for my TL:

The Kaifeng Jews used (and use) Chinses rather than biblical names, correct?

[Zuvarq]

How many people in the 1600s Spanish Empire were maroons or members of independent tribes? edit: How many christians/non-christians were there, basically. Crypto-jews and Moriscos counting as Christians.

Also, were parts of Flanders and Sicily ever populated with a significant amount of Spanish nobles?

[Grey Wolf]

Originally Posted by Shtudmuffin

Is Vladivostok a year-round warm-water port? I read its Wikipedia article, but the article doesn't even touch on the subject.

I don't think so. There are photographs from the Russo-Japanese War of the armoured cruisers Rossiya and Gromoboi surrounded by ice and their crews out on the ice. IIRC that's why Russia wanted Port Arthur - because THAT was an all-year round port

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

[Velasco]

Anyone know the meaning/etymology of the Greek name Philotera?

[Grey Wolf]

Originally Posted by Velasco

Anyone know the meaning/etymology of the Greek name Philotera?

Lover of earth? Just a guess

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

[Zuvarq]

When did gold and silver become rare in Mexico and Peru?

[Patton]

Does anyone know anything about the constitution Tsar Alexander II was considering I can't really find much about it on the web.