Sometime I wanna SCA, sometimes I wanna LARP. I rarely want to commit to graduate-level coursework.
I like my historic TTRPGs to be like the SCA. An attempt to re-enact a period of history, but not taking yourself too seriously.
In terms of what to include in the game in terms of things that are uncomfortable today, I guess I like to address them very moderately, just like I do with my kitchen sink fantasy. There is a lot of fading to black, hand waiving things people may not be comfortable playing through, etc. You have to know you group, regardless of how inspired or not the game is by real-life history.
I think in many eras, I would look to set up the players as an outcast or otherwise idiosyncratic group. Rather than play one historic group that was opposed to another for cultural, religious, or racial reasons, I'd have the party play a mixed group that has to deal with the realities of antagonism, repression, distrust, etc. from multiple sides. Why would such a mixed group come together? Greater threat? They're pirates? Or they are part of a mixed community because as much awful stuff you will encounter in history, their have always been more diversity and interconnection than our general impressions would have us believe.
You can treat historical TTRPGs with a nod to modern sensibilities partly because there have been periods and locations and groups who would still be radical by our current standards in terms of gender, religion, race, etc.
Or just have a group of modern people find themselves traveling back in time and having to navigate the issues of that period with their modern sensibilities. That could be interesting.
At the same time, playing one real historical group fighting against an enemy based on another historical group can be touchy, but doesn't have to be off limits. I mean, I'm not banning my son from playing Ghosts of Tsushima. I'm less comfortable with FPS games based on modern locations and events, but I don't default to demonizing those who play them.
Yeah, I'm mixing LARP, historical re-enactment, and video games with TTRPGs, but the same questions and challenges apply to all formats I think.