[kalenx]

They do not say it was hard. There is a difference between being hard and requiring 0.5 second more of thinking, which can and does disrupt the reading flow.

[noahbrier]

Exactly this. I actually think it’s exactly the opposite of assuming your audience is a stupid: it’s respecting them enough to do the work yourself instead of offloading to them. I’ll die on the hill that 19th century referring to the 1800s is fundamentally unintuitive.

[suddenlybananas]

It shouldn't take 0.5 seconds of thinking, unless you're a total historical illiterate.

[kalenx]

You're not arguing in good faith here. Which is fine, but then please stop insulting others.